Descendants Stand-Alones
by WanderlustandFreedom
Summary: Containing all previous Descendants Oneshots published under my account, including The Many Misconceptions of Lady Mal and Depressed, along with new ones. Now featuring Locker Art Wars and Can You Hear Me(Where Ben is deaf). Suggestions are open.
1. Table of Contents

**Due to the fact that D3 is airing next week, and fandom visitors will likely slow and die after that, I've decided to start a collection for those people who enjoyed my stories and would like to keep up with them as I release them. This collection will include all Descendants Oneshots and Twoshots on my profile page, along with several originals that will be added as we go. To make things easier for users who have previously favorited or followed individual stories, I will not be taking old copies down. Thank you for your patience.**

** zs/jgCsyc is the link for the Fanfiction Poll.**

**Table of Contents (Titles with ** are older or written in a certain format that not all users will like)(Titles with $ are reader favorites) (Underlined titles are on A03 in the same or more reader-friendly formats.)**

**1.) Can You Hear Me (In which Ben is deaf)$$**

**2.)Warm (In which Mal has funky pregnancy symptoms)**

**3.)Depressed (In which our Core Four have Mental Health Issues)****

**4.)The Many Misconceptions of Lady Mal (In which Frank Cogitaire learns things about the new queen that he didn't expect)$**

**5.)The Last One(In which Mal reflects on her life and the ways her friends died.)**

**6.) Cotillion Kiss pt 1(In which Uma puts the Love Spell on Ben)**

**7.) Cotillion Kiss pt 2 (Ben's perspective when the curse is broken.)**

**8.)If You Knew (In which someone comes back from the future to speak to the previous leaders of Auradon) ****

**9.) Talking to No One (Modern AU in which Mal comes home and Ben is gone) ****

**10.)The Two O'Clock Meeting pt 1(In which young Ben goes forward in time to meet himself) $**

**11.) The Two O'Clock Meeting pt 2(In which Mal and her friends go forward in time to meet the future Queen) $**

**12.) The Trouble I get In (In which Ben plays a prank on his parents when they come to have a serious conversation with him) **

**13.) Tag, You're It (In which Ben and Mal get into a locker-graffiti war)$**

**14.)Not Missing Anything(A 'Can You Hear Me' Companion. Ben's feelings as his son is born.)**

**15.) Constellations(Ben and Hades talk before Ben and Mal get married)$**

**16.) Westward pt 1(A married Ben is kidnapped by a group of Isle-escapees.)(Split up on Ao3)**

**17.) Westward pt 2(Continuation of the above story.)**

**18.) Getting It Right (Ben and Mal's daughter begins dating and Ben is suspicious of every boy who shows up.)**

**19-24.) Deleted Scenes from Her Royal Highness.****

**25.) Mommy Grew Up Different pt1 (Ben and Mal's adventures in raising one genius, one dragon, and one performer.)(Split up on A03)**

**26.) Mommy Grew Up Different pt2 (Continuation of above story)**

**27.) Mommy Grew Up Different pt3 (Continuation of above story.)**

**28.) Green Eyes, Star Eyes pt1 (In a world where Ben was raised inside a bubble with all the other trapped heroes and Mal was raised Queen Maleficent's heir, and both dreamed of each other growing up.)(Split up on A03)**

**29.) Green Eyes, Star Eyes pt2 (Continuation of above story.)**

**30.) Green Eyes, Star Eyes pt 3(Continuation of above story.)**

**31.) I Know You(From Once Upon a Dream) pt1 (Audrey has dreams of Ben and Mal's married life while they're dating and gets extremely jealous.(Split up on A03)**

**32.) I know You(From Once Upon a Dream) pt2 (Continuation of above story.)(Split up on A03)**

**33.) Don't You Leave Me (Mal flatlines from intense pain, but Ben isn't ready to say goodbye.)**

**34.)The Interview (Ben and Mal play interview games testing their marriage.)**

**35.)The Test of Your Trial (Carlos is called to prosecute against his mother)**

**36.) Makeup Fic (Ben suffers severe social anxiety and Mal comes from the Isle of the Lost.)**

**37.) Westward; Eastbound (Sequel to Westward, where Maleficent breaks free from the Isle of the Lost.)**

**38.) Westward; Eastbound (Continuation of above story.)**

**39.) Westward; Eastbound (Continuation of above story.)**

**Requests are open within reason. I will only write a fic if I feel truly inspired by the idea.**


	2. Can You Hear Me?

**Dedicated to TransGirlEvie on Tumblr, who came up with this theory and let me play with it.**

* * *

**Ben is only seven when he is diagnosed with meningitis. By the time he's eight, his ears are no longer working. At the age of sixteen, Ben makes the decision to bring over villain kids from the Isle of the Lost in order to start a re-integration process that will start to heal things between the Isle and Auradon. They don't know he can't hear them yet, but they seem to like him and he likes them. Things are great. Until they're not.**

**-In which the VK's learn sign language to talk to Ben.**

* * *

Ben is only seven when he is diagnosed with meningitis. He wakes up one morning with a high fever and a headache and can't keep anything down the entire day. The servants and his parents in Beast's Castle assume it's flu until his mom comes in the following morning and discovers that Ben won't wake up. A doctor is called in, and they get him on a small weekly prescription to see if things will get better by week out. On a Saturday, two months before he turns nine, Ben is rushed to Auradon Central Medicare and formally diagnosed with meningitis.

At the time of his admission, the two outside layers of the meninges that protect his brain have swelled up and fluid is gathering inside his skull, leading to him not being able to stand light and having trouble keeping conscious. The nurses and doctors arrange a set of IV's that send a steady range of antibiotics straight into his veins, an oxygen mask to regulate his breathing throughout the night, several dozen steroid and anti-inflammation medications he has to take by mouth during the day when the oxygen mask is off, and many other things. Meningitis isn't a surgery-fixable case, so Ben is left to fight it off by himself.

Looking back, Ben can't remember the exact specifics, but he does remember waking up one morning, squinting around the room as nurses rushed in with water, food, and medications, and thinking that things sounded rather fuzzy, as if he was underwater or had earplugs in. Then, suddenly, if his mom says something to him, he can only hear half of it. Doctors quickly catch on to the problem and bring in Ben's first audiologist, who tests his ears and declares that Ben is almost 100% deaf in his left ear and steadily increasing towards deafness in his right. By the time he's eight, his ears are no longer working.

Ben slowly recovers, but his hearing doesn't. Those first few nights back home are horrible. People forget, try calling to him, get angry when he doesn't answer, and then are embarrassed when they remember. His parents get someone to come and teach him sign language, but for the first weeks, he struggles to write what he wants to say to his parents as they wait, fidgeting, for him to express his thoughts. Many times, Ben finds himself sitting in the quiet of his room, tapping silently on the windowsills and walls, hoping by some miracle he'll hear more than just the memories of what the sound was.

The years pass. He learns to read lips. Exhausting? Yes. Necessary? Equal yes. He slowly starts to make friends again. At first, people are nice to talk slowly while he tries to associate movements to meanings, but soon they start talking just as fast as ever, and Ben's head spins, trying to make sense of everything everyone is saying. He learns to follow conversations by following people's eyes when they turn to listen to someone else speak and practices daily in front of a mirror with a transcribing device, making sure he can still be understood even though he can't hear anymore.

People say he's a great speaker.

His friends describe him as a great listener.

He guesses he'll never really know for sure.

He's Auradon's future leader, born to listen to the kingdom and fix their problems, and he can't even hear anything. He wonders if his future wife will have a problem with the idea he'll never once hear her muttering to herself or singing to anything. He wonders if his future kids will make jokes to their friends about how their dad never listens to them or something.

At the age of sixteen, Ben makes the decision to bring over villain kids from the Isle of the Lost in order to start a re-integration process that will start to heal things between the Isle and Auradon. And yeah, there is lots of fear in doing something like that. What if he picks wrong? What if they start to destroy Auradon? What if they just plain don't like him? He picks four to start with, figuring it'll be easier to connect with a smaller group first, and sets about work. Soon enough, the first four names are down. Mal, daughter of Maleficent, Evie, Daughter of the Evil Queen, Carlos, son of Cruella De Vil, and Jay, son of Jafar.

Arrangements are made, parents are notified, and the new students are set to arrive on a Tuesday to the Auradon Prep front circle. Fairy Godmother invites the band(Which is a division Ben appreciates a lot more than the other students, given he can't hear the horrible beginning practices) down to welcome the new students and Audrey gets herself excused from her class to come down and be with him as he welcomes the new kids.

On the day of, Ben can feel cold sweat dripping down his back as he stands, baking in the mid-afternoon light, waiting for the limo to appear down the road. Audrey's arm is looped through his, his suit is sticking to his arms, and his hands are shaking. She leans her head on his shoulder serenely and then he sees her start moving her lips out of the corner of his eye. He whips his head around to follow her words as best he can.

"…be nervous," She is saying. "They'll love you. Everyone does."

"I didn't catch that first part," He tells her with a sigh. He hates how she likes to talk with her head on his arm. It's hard to see her. She can't expect him to know a word she said if he can't see her, right?

Fairy Godmother puts a hand on his other arm gently and points down the driveway. Ben sees a glimpse of a black hood and his breath catches. He pulls his arm out of Audrey's and takes a deep breath, rubbing his hands on his suit.

The limo comes to a stop; the door opens. There's a minor scuffle, but then all four stand in front of him, and then Ben is relaxing because he can see teamwork here. He can see curiosity and wonder and chocolate smeared on Carlos's cheek. There's definitely hope. He picked right.

"It's so, so good to finally meet you all," He declares, stepping forward with a smile. "I'm Ben."

All of the VK's eyes rest on him, and he can see their expressions softening just slightly before their eyes jump to the person next to him and he can see walls going back up again. He turns to see what's wrong and watches Audrey's lips form the words: "soon-to-be-king!"

He lets out a nervous laugh, mentally kicking himself in her behalf, and adds: "This is Audrey!", which is another mistake as Audrey stops the conversation to declare that she's a princess.

Evie steps forward, and she's mumbling. He has no idea what she's saying. She's barely moving her lips as she speaks, and he's at a loss. He turns to Audrey, hoping she'll have caught on(Fat chance, because out of all his friends, Audrey is the one who ignores the fact he can't hear the most) to the fact he is clueless, and he watches her mouth curl into a sneer as she replies: "The Evil Queen has no royal status here, and neither do you."

Oh. Oh. Why, dear lord, would she say that?

"Audrey," He grits out, turning to the side. "Can you just… chill?"

Audrey blinks in surprise. "I am chill," She protests, wrinkling her brow up.

"No, you're not," He shakes his head. "So just stop." He turns back to the villain kids and moves forward, out holding a hand. "I'm Ben, I'm going to show you around and I'm going to be here to answer any questions you have. You can come to me for anything – anything at all." He shakes the hand of the first villain kid, who he suspects is Jay from the insignia on his jacket, and then the next in line, who stands slightly forward as if she's the leader. The wing applique attached to her shoulders make him suspect this is Mal, daughter of Maleficent. Evie is obvious. She has apple jewelry and recently declared herself a princess if he suspects correctly. And that means the last boy is Carlos de Vil.

There's a short introduction of the area by Fairy Godmother, and the band heads out. Ben turns to Audrey. "I think I've got it from here," He tells her as clearly as he can. "I'll come to find you later."

Probably to break up with her. He's sick of her attitude.

As he leads the Villain Kids into the front of the building, he keeps turned around so he can keep track of any conversations they're having. They don't say much, which is good, and the first time Carlos moves to ask something, he raises a hand that immediately draws Ben's attention and has him mentally sighing in relief.

As they pause in front of the Beast's statue and the four watch him turn it from a man into Beast, Mal turns with a little smirk pulling at her mouth and asks: "Does he shed much?" And even though he can't hear her voice, he can tell it's filled with sarcasm and humor. His response pleases himself too.

"Yeah, Mom won't let him on the couch," He replies. And Mal's expression catches because she clearly didn't expect an Auradon boy to get her Isle sarcasm. All of the Isle kids exchange little looks as he smiles, and he can already tell that this is the start of something great.

The boys immediately get in with tourney, which is great, because it's something he gets into as well. His teammates have to tap him on the shoulder and relay any direct instructions that are for him, but overall it doesn't require lots of communication and is fun for him. Lack of communication is another reason he enjoys swimming. Meanwhile, Evie debuts a few Isle designs, slowly starts letting people buy things off of her, and then suddenly she's the number one fashionista in the school and people are commissioning her for outfits and accessories. Mal draws a lot, he notices immediately, except she doesn't sign up for art class until he convinces her to do it with him. Then, eventually, she becomes top of the entire program and the teacher sends one of her Isle-inspired pieces to a country gala where Ben's parents actually text him a photo of it to get his opinion. Ben, meanwhile, learns how to use a dot to make a 2D picture.

And so he and the VK's are friends. When they come up to talk to him, they clap him on the shoulder so he knows they're there and he tells Evie to speak up so he can always understand her, and things are good. Really good.

Until suddenly they're not.

* * *

"Ben!" Mal raises her voice and her hand to wave across the room as the young King enters the lunchroom(He's the king now, and neither Mal nor her friends really felt like ruining his big day to steal the wand, so now their plans have become a 'Distant Maybe' (Aka, probably not)). She keeps her hand raised for a few seconds and then brings it back down when Ben doesn't reply. She stares at her fingertips numbly as Evie, Jay, and Carlos duck their heads a little in confusion.

"That's not the first time he's done that," Evie mumbles, pushing her plate away and setting her mirror down on the table.

"Maybe he's getting annoyed with us?" Carlos suggests in a hollow tone, setting his elbows on the table and his chin on his elbows.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Mal murmurs as she watches Audrey raise an

arm from a different table and call for Ben. He sees her arm out of the corner of his eye and turns to smile and wave before he goes to sit down beside Chad Charming, who Mal doesn't like, Lonnie, who Mal only likes a little, and Audrey, who Mal could watch burn alive and not care. Audrey looks over at Mal with a little smirk as Ben starts to talk with them, and Mal averts her gaze, acting as if she doesn't care that he's not sitting with them again. Acting as if it doesn't hurt that he's ignoring them.

Jay pushes his plate back too and stares at the table for a few seconds. They all completely miss Ben turning to search around the room from his table and trying to wave when he sees them.

* * *

Mal is standing at her locker when she hears footsteps approaching from the other side, which the door is blocking. She closes her eyes. The footsteps are light, so she knows they are not Ben's, but it is the fact that someone is trying to impersonate Ben that has her heart aching. Nothing good can come out of this.

She shuts her locker door and meets the eyes of Princess Audrey, the King's girlfriend. And then she leans against the lockers and keeps her face blank as she waits for the girl to state her case or scoff and leave, as she usually does.

"Aren't you going to say good morning?" Audrey demands after a while.

Mal raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you?" She asks.

Audrey scoffs. "It's never a good morning when you're around. Ben really is just too trusting."

Mal slumps internally. She really doesn't want to hear this right now, but she can't turn and walk off without showing Audrey she's getting to her, so she stands there without a single flinch.

"I mean, sure, his mom fell in love with the big nasty beast who turned out to be a prince, but with my mom, the evil fairy was just the evil fairy. Your mother, remember?" Audrey sneers. "Doesn't look like there's been much change between generations."

An arm appears out of nowhere, separating Mal and Audrey, and Mal looks up to see the very cross face of the king himself as he pushes Audrey away from Mal. Audrey's face falls away into shock. "Ben," She squawks. "How much did you-"

"I saw it all," Ben snaps, dropping his backpack on the ground and taking his girlfriend by the shoulders. "And that's it. I'm sick of your attitude towards me, towards everyone else, towards the people I like… everyone. We're not your doormats, and I hate how you think you're entitled to brathood because you're my girlfriend. This is it. We're done, Audrey. I'm breaking up with you."

Audrey crumples, tries to grab at his sleeves, but he's turning away, already gone. He turns back to Mal with a concerned expression, reaching to put an arm around her shoulders, and Mal can't bring herself to meet his eyes.

"Are you okay?" He whispers, tugging her chin up a little so he can see her face. "Listen… it's not true what Audrey said."

Mal pushes him away. Something about this isn't correct. He can't ignore them and then swing around full circle to try and fool them that he cares about him. "Just go back to ignoring us," She snaps. "We already deal with everyone else hating us – we can deal with you too."

Though it's disappointing… he seemed so genuine and funny.

Ben's arm drops from around her and he repeats: "Ignoring you,' as if it's astounding to him. Mal rolls her eyes. She doesn't understand why he's pretending now, of all times. She turns her back to him and strides off with her shoulders back and her chin held aloft. She can hear Audrey starting to cry behind her and thinks, at the very least, Audrey is finally getting what's coming to her.

* * *

There's a light knock at the door that evening. Carlos has mastered his game and is searching on the internet for a new one to begin while Jay cleans his tourney stuff off in a corner and Evie sketches her heart out in a design book, trying to find her next big creation. Mal is reminiscing Ben's arm around her shoulders and squeezing her eyes shut as she recalls what it was like to hear Ben break up with his girlfriend. And since she's the relatively least busy, she's the one who gets up to answer the door when the second knock comes, more persistent and meaning it's not Ben behind the door.

She slides the lock and uses her toes to swing the door open. Over the threshold is Doug, who is probably going to end up being Evie's boyfriend, she thinks. Evie stands up with a smile when she sees him and waves. "Doug!" She greets. "I didn't know you were coming over today."

"Hi, Evie," Doug smiles and waves a little. "I, erm, am actually here on Ben's behalf and – wait! No, don't close the door!" He jams his foot into the frame as Mal moves to swing the door closed at the mention of the King's name. Evie sits down with a scowl as Doug opens the door with a sigh, steps in, and closes it. Mal goes to sit back in her place on Jay's bed without a word or a flicker of emotion. Everyone else looks away with similar expressions of disdain as Doug takes a deep breath against the door.

"Ben said that the four of you think he's ignoring you. I've, ah, come to clear things up with you in case you don't feel like talking to him." He swallows, and then Jay speaks up from across the room.

"Man, we get it, he doesn't like hanging around the villain kids. We get it." He sighs, sounding dejected. "It's just a little disappointing because he's the one who brought us over."

"Ben is deaf," Doug corrects with a shake of the head. "He hasn't been able to hear anything since he was eight years old. So, if you're trying to get his attention from across a room or walking by him in the hallways, you need to make sure he's able to see you so that he can read your lips."

The room is silent. Then, slowly, Jay straightens up, looking mystified. Carlos looks like the heavens have reopened. A revelatory light comes into Evie's eyes, and Mal gets up and turns to stare at Doug. "He… can't hear us?" She repeats.

"100% deaf," Doug confirms. "That's why he has to have people speak slower or ask them to repeat things. He doesn't even know what he sounds like. He practices speaking with a transcriber in the morning so he can make sure people can understand them. So, he hasn't been ignoring you, he just had no clue you were trying to talk to him."

"But he went to Audrey's table when she called him," Mal frowns, recalling Audrey's smirk as the king joined them. "And he didn't look at us at all."

"Were you sitting somewhere he could see you?" Doug asks. The four VK's fall silent again. Mal leans back into the wall. Ben is deaf. He can't hear. That makes so much more sense.

"Why didn't anyone tell us?" Carlos asks, running his hands through Dude's fur at his side.

Doug shrugs. "I don't know. We all thought you knew. I was actually pretty surprised when Ben asked if I could come to explain things on his behalf. I didn't know that you didn't know."

The silence stretches out with each of them taking in the revelation. Then Jay, across the room, heaves a sigh and goes: "Oh," and the other three chuckle in relieving humor.

* * *

Mal makes the first attempt at conversation with Ben the next day, as she spots him down the hall, walking with Chad. She pauses at her locker, screws up her courage, and then sticks out a hand and waves it. Ben doesn't notice for a second, so she keeps her hand out, and then suddenly his head snaps in her direction. He blinks for a second, taking in the fact she's trying to get his attention, and then his entire face brightens. He claps Chad on the shoulder, bids him goodbye, and hurries over to her with his entire face beaming, completely happy that she's speaking to him again.

"Hi!" He greets her.

"Hi!" She smiles a little in spite of herself. He goes to open up his arms for a hug before he appears to remember that the VK's aren't as open to affection as the Auradonians. But Mal accidentally opens her hands up and so they stand there awkwardly before he puts a hand around her and gives her a hug from the side. She kind of… lets her arms fall into place around him and he laughs, a bubbling sound that she feels rise up in his chest and it makes her feel a lot happier than she's been lately.

"I saw you trying to get my attention," Ben smiles. "Do you need anything? I've missed talking to you."

"I've missed talking to you," Mal smiles, shutting her locker even though she still needs to grab her textbook and head to class. He keeps an arm around her, which makes it hard to draw away the arm she has around his back, but she does let her left arm drop. In her hand is her sketchpad with her pencil stuck into the spiral ring. They start wandering down the hall aimlessly together. "Doug explained… things to us. We're sorry that we thought you were ignoring us."

Ben ducks down a little to continue watching her mouth as she looks to the ground, and the thought occurs to her: if Ben is to read lips, he has to see said lips move. She brings her head back up, allowing Ben to straighten his neck as well. "Sorry," she apologizes.

"No, I'm sorry," Ben shakes his head. "I honestly thought you guys knew. I was a little concerned when you all stopped coming around to hang out and Carlos and Jay would break off during tourney practices, but I just kind of hoped you were starting to feel a little more at home here and were trying to branch out."

Mal shakes her head. "We had no idea," She sighs. "I do think, in hindsight, that Audrey realized we didn't know. There were times we'd try and get your attention and you wouldn't notice, and she'd try right after us and look over to make sure we got the memo."

Ben frowned. "I'm sorry about Audrey," He shook his head. "She got bad leading up to coronation, but after it was over, she was just insufferable. I've been meaning to break up with her for a while. When I came up to talk to you and saw her saying that stuff… it really was just the last straw."

Mal hums and suddenly, she's not sure how, they're out on the grounds and their arms are still around each other's backs, and they're just chatting like two old friends. He gestures down at her sketchbook. "Have you done anything new recently?" He asks.

"Loads," Mal affirms, holding it up. "I'm almost out of room. Having you gone gave me lots of angst time."

"Oh, we can't have that," Ben laughs, rolling his eyes. He holds his hand out for the book. "May I?" He asks.

She hands it to him and then watches his face grow brighter as he opens it and starts flipping through from where he last saw her working. He stops to flip back at some of his old favorites – a rose is, notably, one he is always enchanted by – and she can see in his eyes how impressed he is with her recent work.

"You really like art a lot, huh?" She asks. He doesn't answer, and Mal mentally kicks herself before she waves a little hand in his face, waits for him to rip his eyes away, and then repeats the question.

"I do," Ben affirms, glancing back at the picture as he speaks. This one is of Jay on the tourney field, diving into a catch in what feels like slow motion. "Art needs no words." He glances back at Mal to make sure she isn't saying anything else before they stop beside a tree and take a seat at the base of the trunk. She wraps her arms around her legs and watches him flip through.

No words, meaning he doesn't have to follow the conversation. Mal watches him continue looking through her work. A little bell goes off in the back of her mind. You have class, something reminds her. Your textbook is in your locker.

She can be late – it won't be anything anyone wouldn't expect from a villain kids, after all.

Ben puts his finger down on a self-portrait she's been working on, with different parts of her personality and the Isle itself detailed into her outfit and features. In her eyes is a curling dragon, under her arm is a spellbook, her friends have images on her arms, and the Isle skyline is worked into the base of her jacket and into the hemline of her jeans. "This is amazing," He breathes. "You are so incredibly talented." Ben looks up to see if she'll respond, but she doesn't, she only shrugs, and he goes back to admiring the portrait.

"I want to commission you to do anything we ever need ever in the palace," Ben breathes, leaning back into the tree. Mal laughs a little and then waves her hand a little. His gaze snaps back to her as she starts to speak.

"Is it okay for me to ask what being deaf is like?" She asks. "I mean, you seem to fit in really well – we seriously had no idea you were deaf – but what do you think about it?"

Ben frowns. She can see a little hurt in his eyes, but something tells her that it is not her fault. He folds the pages of her sketchbook back over the binder, leaving her portrait visible so he can keep stealing glances at it, and takes a deep breath. "It's hard," He admits. "By this point though, I've been without my hearing for half of my life, so I'm used to it."

"What don't you like about it?" She asks.

"Trying to listen to other people is hard," Ben confesses. "Especially when there's more than one. I get massive headaches trying to figure out what everyone is saying and jumping from person to person. And then there's the fact I can't be called. My parents and I use sign language at home, but almost none of my friends know any, so I can't use it here."

"Is sign language easier?" Mal asks.

Ben nods. "Yeah. Reading lips can get exhausting. Especially when you have people who have their faces hidden or when they mumble or even if they have lots of, like, braces stuff in their mouth. It's hard. I couldn't understand what Evie was saying the first few times she talked because she was trying to do that thing where you talk without moving your face."

Mal bursts into laughter. That annoys her when Evie does it – she can't imagine how Ben refrained himself from slapping her. Ben smiles and leans back into the tree. "There are also the things I miss that make me sad, you know? Like, I haven't heard the national anthem in years, and whenever it's played, I just have to stand there awkwardly, waiting for everyone else to indicate it's done. I can't hear waterfalls or birdsong or everyone screaming at the end of a tourney match. When I grow up, I'm never going to hear my wife sing or my kids cry or anything."

Mal's smile fades and she touches her ears lightly as if to make sure they still work. "That's awful," She mumbles, trying to imagine a world of complete silence.

Ben leans forward, looking confused. "Did you say something? I couldn't catch that." He squints at her mouth.

"Oh, sorry," Mal takes her hand away. "I said 'that's awful'. I wish there was something I could try. A spell or something…" She trails off, thinking of her mother's spellbook in her locker. The chances of her mom having something in there seem minuscule, but she can always check.

"I've learned to live with it," Ben shrugged. "Is there anything else you wanted to ask me, or can I finish looking at your drawings now?"

Mal gestures for him to go on, and he looks down and continues examining her portrait, completely blown away by the small details she's included into herself. Mal smirks a little as she watches him trace the pencil markings with his eyes, and then slowly reaches over the uses her nail to flip a few pages forward. She pulls the pages up and Ben gasps when he sees the picture that she's shown him. It's of himself, though it doesn't have much detail, yet. She's doing one for all her friends. This one has Auradon Castle running along the bottom of the page as Ben stands in a tan shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, looking over his shoulder a little. One eye if shaded and detailed with a little library swirling around his pupil, but the other is just circular markings that will determine the placement of his other features.

"Woah, I look good!" He exclaims, tracing a finger down his sleeves. "You make me look really good!"

Another laugh spills out of her throat. She can't help it. He just makes her laugh. All the time, whenever she's with him, she's laughing.

Ben puts his arm around her and she leans into his side as he flips back and forth between her portrait and his, occasionally glancing through the other three. "When these are done, I want them," He declares, and doesn't look down to see if she'll protest.

Evie finally messages her a 'where are you?' and Mal knows the gig is up. Ben begrudgingly hands her back her book. "I'm going to have to get you a new one," He declares, leading her back to her locker for her book.

"I'll just get one from the school," Mal shakes her head. "You don't have to do that."

"No, I'm going to get you a really good one with lots of high-quality paper," Ben decides, moving his hands to accentuate his words. "And then we'll have to get you a lock so no one comes to steal your artwork."

She's laughing, again, as she opens her locker and takes out her textbook and spellbook and a couple of other books. Then she shuts it again and they stand there in the sunlight for a little while. Ben's eyes flicker from her face, checking to make sure she's not talking, down to the sketchbook, and she knows he's thinking about those drawings.

"I better get to class," She finally says, heart falling a little. "I'm already late."

"Are you free on Friday night?" Ben asks, eyes drifting up to meet hers.

Mal tilts her head to the side. "I think so," She affirms. "Are you hoping to come around and see everyone?"

"Do you want to go on a date?" Ben asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the lockers.

Mal's mouth goes a little dry before her smile grows even wider. "Yeah," She agrees, nodding her head in case her words somehow don't travel over to him. It's entirely possible, as her face feels a little numb. "Yeah, I'd love that."

"I'll make some plans and come talk to you about them later," Ben decides. He puts an arm around her one more time, and then they bid each other goodbye, and he goes one way, and she goes the other.

* * *

Mal, Jay, and Carlos slam a torrent of books down in front of Evie and Doug as they sit in a hidden corner of the library with completed Chemistry Homework and advanced theory books open in front of them. Evie looks over, startled, as the table rattles a little and a passing librarian pops her head out to frown at them. "What are you doing?" She demands in a whisper.

"Look," Mal gasps, holding up the thinnest manual of all the various books they've dropped onto Evie and Doug's workspace. It's a manual depicting how to perform basic conversations in sign language. "Ben knows sign language, and he said almost none of his friends know it. If we learn it, then not only will it be easier for us to talk to him, but also no one will know what we're saying. It'll be like Isle code, but with Ben."

"Oh!" Evie's eyes light up and she begins to skim the stack of various sign language dictionaries. "That's completely brilliant! So, is it a surprise?"

"Yes," Carlos nods, picking up one about various foods in sign language and opening it to a random page. "We've got to make sure we don't botch it first."

"Guys," Doug tries to break in carefully, but Jay cuts in.

"This stuff is like, super easy, too. To say 'hi' you just wave. Simple!" He exclaims, searching through the manuals for one he likes.

"Guys!" Doug calls for their attention. They turn to look at him and then watch as he rattles off a complicated pattern with his hands. Mal's mouth drops open. "I'm Ben's only other friend who knows sign language. My dad taught me it. And, by the way, you aren't going to be able to remember everything in all of those manuals just by reading through them and practicing once or twice. What if you start with conversations, and we can all practice together, and then generally add in things like sports and families and food?"

He has a point, Mal concedes. Jay and Carlos and Evie are all nodding along to his words, so Mal sighs and picks out one large dictionary and the one manual about basic conversation. "So, start here?" She asks.

Doug puts his hands in the air, palms facing outwards, and shakes them back and forth. "Start here," He instructs. "This is the sign you use to get someone's attention."

Helpful, Mal immediately pegs it. This is very, very helpful. They all look a little strange, shaking their hands at each other in a corner of the library, but she feels a little accomplished already because this is something she can use besides holding her hand out forever and hoping he'll notice her from a distance.

The journey has begun.

* * *

Evie walks into the girl's room a week later to find Carlos sitting on her bed with Dude and Mal finishing her homework on hers. She shuts the door behind her and flips the light on and off twice to get their attention before holding her hands up, fingers splayed and facing the ground, and flipping them upwards. 'What's up?'

Carlos stretches his shoulders a little before he responds by flexing his index finger as if he's trying to grab something in front of him, rubbing his knuckles together like there's something in between them, and then touching his middle finger and thumb together before snapping. 'I need to wash the dog'.

Mal flexes her fingers on her left hand before tapping her wrist against the back of her right hand. 'Homework'. She says. Then, shaking her finger in the air and pointing at Evie, 'Where were you?"

Evie spells out Doug's name and holds up a new manual out of her bag. Mal smiles proudly. That qualifies as a conversation. They've just completed a basic conversation. She balls her fists up and gives them a little shake of triumph before turning her eyes back to her homework. She feels so, so close.

Eventually, it gets to the point that they're all in remedial goodness together, and they're signing across the desks instead of talking verbally when the Fairy Godmother gives them a 'discuss this' assignment. The headmistress watches from the front of the room as Evie, Mal, Jay, and Carlos all move their hands and faces with dramatic, yet silent expressions. Mal recently learned the signs for 'be quiet' (Crossing one's hands a little underneath their chin and then moving them apart) and she's overusing it a little bit as Carlos insists that the answer is 'C', not 'A'.

"Did you guys know that Ben also knows sign language?" The Fairy Godmother asks when they all settle down. Carlos is fuming in his seat.

"We know," Mal nods, looking down at the portrait she's almost finished of him. Hers is done, so is Jay's, Carlos's she has to fix Dude, and then Evie's is falling behind just a little as she works on putting Ben's parents into his sleeve and them – his friends – onto the other.

"He's kind of the reason we're all picking it up," Jay explains, kicking his feet up on the table. "Now we can talk to him without his other friends being annoying."

"Oh," Fairy Godmother blinks in surprise. "I don't think anyone's ever learned for him besides his parents. That's very kind of you."

She turns back to the blackboard and Mal feels another surge of pride. She can't wait to see the look on Audrey's face when the Core Four get to talk to Ben without her knowing a word.

* * *

One would assume that Family Day would be an extremely unpopular event for a bunch of teenagers, but everyone seems to get pretty down on the idea that their parents are allowed to visit. Ben tries not to talk about it very much at first because he's afraid that they're upset their parents won't be there, but to be honest the four have kind of given up on their lives back on the Isle and are liking their Auradon lives much, much better.

Ben's parents, the former King and Queen of Auradon, arrive in a polished carriage that Mal could spot from a mile away. Ben meets them at the gates and she watches as they greet each other with shaking hands and 'how are you's that she can understand. After exchanging pleasantries with his parents, Ben turns and gestures her forward. She steps up, and Ben introduces her as his girlfriend (Bringing a thumb down from beside his cheek and then linking his index fingers together twice with either palm facing down.)

Belle and Adam's eyes widen with shock and a little worry. After all, girlfriends either turn into exes or wives and having the daughter of Maleficent as either could get a little messy. But Ben is confident, explaining briefly about her, and she smiles as she pretends she can't understand 70% of what he is signing.

Finally, Ben turns back to her with his bright smile and re-translates the entire conversation for her. She shakes hands with his parents and then his dad points Ben's attention to where the Fairy Godmother is calling for him behind his back, trying to get someone to tap on his shoulder. Ben leaves, walking for the Fairy Godmother, and Mal makes eye contact with the royals before she lets loose a few signs of her own.

She touches her fingertips to her brow in a light sort of salute, holds a fist up with her thumb on the outside, then crosses her thumb over her first two fingers, and finally makes an 'L' shape with her hand. 'I know Auradon Sign Language.' Then, crossing her arms across her belly, making a motion as if she were flipping a word out to someone from her chin, and turning to point at Ben's retreating back a little. 'Don't tell Ben.'

Belle's mouth drops open a little bit more and Adam straightens up in curiosity. "It's a secret," She whispers, leaning forward a little. "My friends and I are all learning to surprise him." She points back to her boyfriend with a meaningful eyebrow quirk, crosses her arms again, and then touches the top of her head in that same salute. 'He doesn't know.'

Queen Belle's eyes fill with tears as Adam nods in the heaviest sort of approval he can muster. Belle gestures to them both and makes the motion to seal her lips closed. 'We won't tell.'

* * *

Mal can't deny that she is very nervous as she, Jay, Carlos and Evie all sit at their lunch table together, but Doug has pronounced them mostly fluent and they haven't spoken in each other's company in a week straight now, so she figures it's time to put their skills to use. She points to each of the four of them with a questioning look on her face. 'Who will start?"

Jay, Evie, and Carlos all point at her before Carlos signs, pointing towards her and then closing a hand by his forehead before linking his index fingers together in the same way you do for 'girlfriend' and 'friend'. 'He's your boyfriend.'

Mal acknowledges this with a deep breath and a nod and then looks up to see the person in question enter the room. She watches as he's caught up in a group of other friends – Chad Charming, Lonnie, Jane, Doug, and even Audrey. She watches him get caught up in the conversation, looking a little dizzy as he follows everyone's eyes to figure out who is speaking. Her hands are shaking a little, and that's not even a sign.

"Go on," Jay whispers. It's actually a little weird to hear his voice after just listening to him sign the last few weeks.

Mal hesitates a second longer, and then puts her hands into the air and shakes them a little. Jay, Evie, and Carlos all turn and mimic her motion, and immediately, Ben's eyes have left his friends' and he is staring across the room at the table trying to get his attention. After all, that is the sign for getting someone's attention, and he is the only deaf person in the area.

Evie beckons him forward with a hand. 'Come here.'

Jay gestures to the group, makes claws with his hands and brings them closer to his chest, taps his fingers on his lips, and then points to Ben. 'We want to talk to you.'

Carlos takes up the 'Come here' sign as Mal puts the tips of her fingers together and curls them outwards at her sternum, a little like she's presenting a gift, and points at her boyfriend. 'How are you?' She asks.

Ben stares at them like he doesn't understand what he's seeing for several seconds. Chad starts trying to talk to him, but of course Ben isn't looking; he's staring at their group and slowly bringing his hands up to cover his mouth as they all repeat their signs, trying to urge him to come over so they can really try out their skills. His eyes fill with tears and he stumbles a little. The rest of the group finally follows his gaze over to the VK's, who start asking if he's okay by flicking their index fingers out in concern. Mal gets a great sense of pride when Audrey's eyes bug out and her entire left side of her face twitches. She's probably seen Ben's parents using sign language and knows exactly what she's seeing, even if she doesn't know what any of the hand symbols mean.

Ben brings his hands down and then starts his own signs. He points at them, brings a hand up to his face and spreads his palm out like something that blew up in front of him, and then repeats the signs for ASL. 'You learned sign language?' He asks.

The group all signs 'yes' as one and it's at that moment when Ben absolutely breaks down. He has to sit down on the steps of the lunchroom as tears fill his eyes and fall down his face. People go absolutely silent around him as they watch the King of all Auradon wiping his eyes and trying not to make any sound as he cries because he has no idea what he sounds like when he's sobbing this hard. Mal's hands feel cold, and she's not sure what to do, but Doug gestures them all forward and they slowly leave their seats to go crowd around him.

"Are we going to get in trouble for this?" Carlos hisses under his breath as they approach the area where Doug is awkwardly patting Ben's back as the rest of his friends stare, dumbfounded, at what they just witnessed.

"I think he's just blown away that we did it," Mal whispers back. She sits down on the ground beside Ben, chewing on her lip a little, and makes the sign for 'okay?'. Ben watches her through his fingers and then sniffles and takes his hands away from his face to make an arc from his mouth outwards with one hand. 'Thank you'.

He repeats that sign with all of them, several times, and the lunchroom just kind of stays quiet despite the fact most of them have no idea what's going on. He signs it until Mal finally puts her hand on his. Jay shakes his hands from side to side on her behalf. 'It's nothing.'

"Did you all… learn sign language?" Audrey asks, dumfounded above them. "You know he can just read lips, right?"

Mal rolls her eyes at an angle so that she knows Audrey can see. Because it's ridiculous that Audrey is the one pointing this out after she took advantage of Ben's hearing to tease and mock the villain kids. She presents her palms, face-up, points to Ben, then pretends she's tapping a flat surface with both hands, taps her fingers against her mouth, gestures to each of her friends, and finally holds one hand steady as she brushes the other past it in a small circle several times. 'Now you can talk to us easier.'

Ben watches her hands move and then buries his face in his knees, giving up on holding his sobs in and breaking down on the pavement.

None of them are quite sure what to do. Audrey looks absolutely offended that this is having such a big impact on Ben while Lonnie, Jane, and Chad look enchanted and a little impressed. Doug looks on proudly as the four villain kids exchange glances, trying to figure out how to comfort Ben. Gradually, Evie pulls some makeup wipes out of her purse for him to wipe his eyes and blow his nose with, Jay awkwardly claps Ben's shoulder while Carlos continues signing for 'Okay?'. Mal wraps a single arm around her boyfriend's back and pats his side carefully until he starts to calm down.

Ben tries not to shower them in affection because he knows they're not used to that kind of stuff but he's such an affectionate guy that it's hard. He presses a couple of kisses onto Mal's hairline and gives Evie, Jay, and Carlos more hugs than they've ever had before in their lives as students gradually rip their eyes away and go back to their lunch.

'You'. He points at each of them. 'Didn't'. He brings a fist down from under his chin with a thumb up. 'Need'. He flexes his finger like he's trying to scoot something in front of him forward a little. 'To learn'. He repeats the motion of something blowing up in his face with his palm.

Mal reaches into her pocket and unfolds the portrait of him, looking over his shoulder with Auradon around him and tourney bats sticking out of his chest pocket and she and her friends opposite from his parents, and this she presents to him by popping her hands out from her eyes into 'L' shapes. 'Surprise!"

Ben uses the wipes Evie offered him to wipe the last of the tears away and then turns to Jay, on his far right. He points to himself, makes a heart shape over his heart, and then points to the star tourney player. Jay's face falls away to amazement as Ben turns to Evie, who is next to Jay. He points to himself, makes the heart, and points to Evie, who sits down with a tiny thud and looks like she might tear up herself. Then to Carlos, whose hands start shaking at the motion. It's something they've never been told before, really, all their lives.

Mal is last. She keeps a little sweet smile on her face as Ben repeats the motion one last time. She kind of wondered when would be the first time they would use this phrase for each other, and she thinks she likes this scenario much better than any of the cheesy things she's been passing back and forth in her head. It's a little inefficient to sign out the whole phrase – there's an easier hand motion for this one – but she repeats it back to him with a smile. Pointing to herself, making a heart over her heart, and then pressing the tip of her finger into his chest, right over where he's been making all his own hearts.

I love you.

* * *

(Bonus Scene)

She flips the light on and off three times when she walks into the study area to get his attention, and also because it makes everyone else jump and complain when their concentration is broken. She ignores the complaining as she walks across the room to him and puts her spellbook down on the table and signs 'How are you?'

As she finishes bringing her hand back down, he brings a flat hand down from his mouth at an outward angle. 'Good.'

She gestures to herself, presses her thumb and pointer finger together in a circle and flicks it upwards, points at Ben, then shakes a pointed finger beside her head, towards the ceiling. 'I found you something.'

Ben spreads his palms, face-up, and brings them towards and away from himself with a confused look on his face. 'What?'

Mal sits down in the chair beside him and begins flipping through her spellbook. It's a little easier than signing because she's not as fast as Ben and her hands aren't quite as attuned to making the symbols yet (Also, she doesn't know the word for 'spell' yet). She quickly finds the page she thumbed down about twenty minutes ago and plants her index nail into the page before she scoots the book over across the table to show Ben. He wrinkles his nose in distaste, and yeah, she understands why. But then she points to the side note, which reads '*Temporary for five minutes*' and watches him relax a little. He clearly doesn't get what she's thinking at this moment, but his expression does lose the concerned edge.

She makes grabbing motions towards her chest, then uses two fists facing toward with the thumbs out to make a motion of knocking against something, and then gestures to the spell. 'Want to try it?'

He shrugs, clearly not sure what to think about it, and so she holds her right hand up. He takes it in a firm clasp like they're about to have an arm-wrestling match, and then Mal guides him through the series of claps and snaps that completes the second part of the spell. "Cambia Corporum Meum Corpora Sua Nominavi." She declares, and then there's a dizzy rush where all the lights in the room seem really intense and she loses the feeling in her fingertips, but then all is normal and she's still blinking over at Ben, not daring to hold her breath as he leans forward.

Ben's brain is busy. She stays silent as she listens to him examine himself, make sure nothing bad happened to either of them, and glances suspiciously over at her to see if it worked. She can hear his thoughts just like he was speaking, but his mouth isn't moving at all. 'Did it work?" He thinks, furrowing his brow.

'I don't know," She replies, making sure she's not moving her lips along to the thought so there's no mistaking it. "Did it?"

Ben's. Brain. Shuts. Off.

She gets it, on some level. This is the first time he's 'heard' anything outside of his own thoughts, and it's a very, very real and intense moment for him(for both of them, really). But it's still odd to watch everything behind his eyes die and his mouth fall open as he stares at her, wondering if he really heard anything after all.

'You're cute," She tells him, trying to prod some feeling back into his numb existence. 'I like it the most when you smile. When you smile and you're in the sunlight, it's like you're the literal embodiment of sunshine. I don't know why you're going for someone like me, who likes shadows and hiding away from people, but I'm always going to be grateful for you.'

Ben takes his hand away from hers carefully and feels his ears, making sure they're still off and useless and deaf. Mal decides to try something else. She tries to remember what his parents, Belle and Adam sound like, and as she replays little snippets of things they've said in their tones and voices to Ben, she watches his eyes fill with, again, more tears.

She doesn't have many good things that Audrey has said, so she carefully skirts around Ben's old girlfriend while replaying Chad talking to Lonnie about a school project, Doug whistling 'Heigh-Ho', Carlos shouting in joy as he completes a level, the rush of the crowd after Jay won the last tourney match, Evie singing in the shower, and she even takes care to replay several things that he's said to her so that now he knows what he sounds like. He doesn't think a single thing to her as he sits back, taking it all in and trying to memorize everything she presents as she does.

She tries extra hard to remember what the national anthem sounded like when it was played at the tourney game last week but can only remember a few bars since she'd been busy talking to Evie and Jane. Next time, she promises herself, she'll pay extra close attention so she can share it with him.

The five minutes ends. Mal knows when it does. She can see Ben listening harder and harder as he gradually goes deaf again and is left to his own thoughts. She lets her own mind go slack and stops trying to feed him sounds and voices and then they both sit in silence while he processes everything, wiping his eyes occasionally to keep tears from falling. It's just a really long, comfortable silence where neither of them moves and he's just kind of staring off into the distance

Finally, his hand twitches on the table. Mal reaches over and puts her hand on top of his. He swallows, and it's like the spell of silence is broken. She brings her other hand down from her mouth, and then popped her hands out from her eyes into "L" shapes. 'Good surprise?"

He gestured to himself and then, pressing his index and middle fingers together, rolled his wrist up by his forehead. 'I can think-hear you.'

She struggles with all of the signs for her next sentence; not all of the words she knows the signs for, and so she ends up mouthing a little as she moves her hands. She tips her hands up and down like scales, points to her spellbook, shakes a pointed finger beside her head, slams a fist into a palm facing up, and then taps the side of her ear. 'Maybe there's something to help – like a hearing aid.'

Ben takes her hands to keep her from signing anything else and leans forward to kiss her cheek. "This is already fantastic," he whispers slowly, focusing on the feel of the words in his mouth now that he knows how he sounds saying them. "Thank you for showing me."

Mal smiles a little and then makes a bold motion, acting like she's grabbing something from her chest and presenting it to him. He laughs, and she relaxes into this perfect portion of her life.


	3. Warm

**I really, really love these short little fics, if you haven't noticed. I think they're funny and fun to read. This is one I wrote based on a concept I thought was cool. It was super fun to write and I hope it's super fun to read as well. **

**I do not own Descendants.**

* * *

**A funny, fluffy sort of drabble that features a magical concept I came up with. Mal knew all the basic warning signs that she was pregnant, but she didn't know about the big, huge, magical one.**

* * *

"To Evie and Doug!" Jay announced, filling the room with his loud, boisterous voice. Everyone winced but held their glasses aloft. They sat on four matching couches that all faced a round coffee table in Belle's, now Ben's library, in pairs. Ben with Mal, Carlos with Jane, Jay with Lonnie, and Evie with her new fiancé Doug. "For finally tying the knot after waiting all these years." Jay finished.

"To Evie and Doug!" Everyone toasted, holding their glasses aloft and then taking a sip in their friend's honor.

"About time." Ben mumbled under his breath. Mal snorted in agreement as Carlos rolled his eyes and nodded beside her. Evie was finally taking a short hiatus from Evie's Four Hearts and her rigorous business life to marry Doug. She was the last person in the group despite being the only one of them who'd wanted to get married when first arriving in Auradon. Ben put his arm around Mal as she leaned back into his grasp, smiling a little behind the group at the portrait of them that hung above the fireplace with Belle and Adam, the former rulers, to the side. It wasn't her favorite image of them – they were both in their crowns and just the picture of the immaculate skirt made her itch – but it was still nice to see them hung up in such a professional, permanent way.

"I think we made a good choice." Evie hummed, fluttering her fingers a little bit in the pretty chandelier light from far above their heads. They were gathered at the palace, where they usually met because it was always clean, very big, and it was hard to convince the guards to let the royal couple go anywhere else. Plus, they could have servants fetch whatever food they felt like eating.

"Me too," Doug agreed. "Though I still can't believe Jay and Lonnie hitched before us."

"Hey," Jay scoffed, leaning down and taking Lonnie's hand. "When the time is right, the time is right."

"Agreed." Ben hummed. Mal leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. It had been a long day full of meetings and politics and a service project down at East Auradon High, and while she loved catching up with her friends, she was just a bit too exhausted to keep up.

"Do you have any advice about staying in a happy marriage?" Doug asked, mirroring Ben and sliding an arm around Evie's shoulders. The group hummed as one in thought as the fireplace cracked behind them. It was November, and the nights were getting chilly.

Carlos sat up a little, keeping his hand on Jane's knee so he could rub little circles there. "I think conversation is huge for us." He began, looking to Jane as she nodded in agreement. "Jane and I are both busy at Auradon Prep, so whenever there's a moment for conversation it's really, really impactful."

"Not just conversation, but also doing things together." Lonnie agree. "Jay and I are both super busy with our sports and our diplomatic lives, so whenever we chop out time for each other, it's a really big and rare thing for us." Doug and Evie nodded as if this made sense and turned to the last couple in the group. Ben squeezed Mal's shoulder, indicating he wanted her to say something. Mal hummed in thought.

"Don't let work get in the way." She advised with a groan, sinking further into Ben's skin as everyone laughed. It was certainly easier said than done, given she couldn't exactly neglect her kingdom, but the advice was still sound.

"I think that Evie will definitely have the hardest time getting away from work out of all of us, aside from Ben and Mal." Doug laughed, rolling his eyes and putting his hand down on Evie's. Mal nodded with a grumble and curled into Ben's side. Her work would hunt her down if she didn't do it, or at least get her name slathered in the tabloids. The group fell silent. Mal exhaled, curling her fingers into Ben's shirt a little as she debated on whether or not she liked Ben's new cologne. It was spicy and almost smelled a little like smoke. She was just taking a deep breath when Ben jumped and jolted away from her.

"Ow!" He shouted a little, drawing his arm back from around her and shaking his hand as if he'd been shocked. "You burned me!"

"What?" Mal frowned, drawing back from him in confusion. She glanced at her hands. She hadn't done anything.

Ben stilled his erratic movements and raised an eyebrow at her. Carefully, he reached out and ran a hand down her bare skin. A frown stretched across his mouth. "Your skin is warm." He told her. "Like, feverishly warm."

"I don't feel warm." Mal protested, running a hand down her own arm. She felt normal.

Carlos leaned forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Huh." He hummed. "You feel like a heater." Immediately, everyone got up and reached out to touch her. Mal flinched back as her friends raised eyebrows and exchanged glances, running their hands down her arms and patting her shoulders and legs.

"You feel like you just came out of an oven," Evie commented with her eyebrows knit together in concern. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel fine." Mal snapped, pushing their hands away. "Now stop touching me!"

Everyone jumped back. Mal leaned into the couch. Ben glanced at her skin suspiciously. "That's so strange." He hummed. "You didn't cast a spell or anything?"

"Why would I?" Mal asked.

Ben unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled up the cuff, revealing an odd red mark where his arm had been around her. Mal's mouth dropped open. "I did that?" She gasped.

"You just flared up." Ben shrugged, still looking puzzled. "It was like you were a stove. You're a little cooler now but holy crap, ow."

"I'm sorry." Mal frowned. "Here, am I still cooling off?" She extended her arm a little and Ben carefully laid a hand on her bicep, ready to rip it away if she flared up again. After several seconds, he shook his head.

"No." He responded. "You've leveled off, but you're still incredibly warm." He pinched his lips together as Mal crinkled her nose.

"Huh." She mumbled and rubbed her hands together before poking him. Ben jumped and wrinkled his nose at her. Then he leaned back into the couch, carefully not touching her, and pulled out his phone. She snorted. "Doing some internet-searching?" She asked. Ben nodded, lips pressed into a thin line, and didn't say a word as he started punching in keywords. "I'm not dying." She told him. "So don't try and start ushering me to the hospital like that one time I had a red mark appear on my throat."

Ben made a face and waved her off, still examining his phone screen.

"Can I feel your skin again?" Carlos asked, wrinkling his forehead. Mal made a face but extended her hand and let him take it. Carlos felt her fingers and shook her head. "That's freaky." He told her. "And you just flared up?"

"And then cooled by like, five degrees." Ben nodded, squinting at his screen and grumbling. "All I'm getting is explosive behavior." He sighed. "Let's try hot…skin…"

"I wouldn't put that in a search bar if I were you," Carlos advised. He pulled out his phone and began searching the web.

"Point taken." Ben sighed. "Sudden Fever..." He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Fairy with a sudden fever." He grumbled.

"Oh, that makes sense. Maybe magic is involved." Evie nodded. Mal rolled her eyes and watched her husband pinch his lips together as he skimmed search results and flipped between pages on his phone. They fell a little silent, waiting for him to find something, and then slowly began to exchange glances. After a few minutes, Mal watched Ben's fingers slow a little. His gaze flicked up to her, then back down at his phone, and then they locked eyes for a few seconds.

"Did you find anything?" She asked, leaning towards him and trying to glance at the screen. Everyone else got up, craning their heads as if they'd somehow be able to twist their necks around to peer over his shoulder. Ben hid his phone from them, shaking his head and pinching his lips together to keep from laughing. He slipped the screen into his pocket and pressed a hand to his forehead, shaking his head and blinking rapidly. "What?" She asked.

Ben ran his hands down his face and a bright, stupid, disbelieving smile spread across his face as he shook his head, glancing surreptitiously over to her. "Was it another conspiracy theory?" Mal asked, shoving his knee a little as a bewildered smile passed across her face. Ben chuckled, shaking his head harder and harder as he pulled his phone back out and let the phone read his facial features so he could unlock it. He put a hand on her shoulder as he leaned over and showed her the screen, carefully blocking the screen from Jay and Lonnie, who were edging closer to the couch's arm. Mal blinked twice at the screen and glanced at Ben as her smile dropped from her mouth into a face of shock. He made sure she had a firm grip on the phone before withdrawing, covering a smile with his hand as Mal pulled her legs up and waved at Jay to sit down.

The page was from the MagicalMoms blog and appeared to be a Question-then-answer type format. The question? "This is my first pregnancy and my husband's grandma was a fairy. I've noticed I'm incredibly, unbearably hot and my average temperature is actually 110.6. Is this normal for fairy/fae pregnancies?" A list of answers was below. Mal felt her shoulders slump as she read the longest, most liked response.

"YES! Totally normal. I just had my fifth, so I'm very familiar with the heat. I actually have fae blood myself though, so I don't notice it. You must be human, which is why you can feel how warm you are. Most Fae women are oblivious to their own temperature. It's actually the earliest symptom you can show in a magical pregnancy – the moment the embryo implants on the side of your uterus, you're warm, so unless you're alone you'll probably figure it out right away. It's usually an instantaneous thing the moment – or the few seconds – after you become pregnant. You flare up and then you'll remain a space heater until the baby is born. The reason the heat can happen anywhere is because there's a certain amount of time from emission to fertilization to implantation. It can take anywhere from five to fifteen days for implantation to occur, which officially 'begins' a pregnancy. Most other symptoms will show up around month two and three. The only time my husband and I didn't notice right away was because we were on vacation with family when I found out about my third. We stayed in the hot tub for, like, four hours with all the adults, laughing, and then when we went home was when my husband noticed my skin hadn't cooled off yet. You actually have a very low temperature… I think the average is 118.7, but the highest I've been is 136.3 and the lowest is 121.6. So it varies! WARNING: 120 degrees is very, very hot! A five-minute exposure will produce third-degree burns. Make sure and do not let little children (Or your big children(Husbands)) fall asleep on you! It shouldn't be dangerous to you(maybe just really uncomfortable). Hope that helps!"

Mal glanced left at Ben, who was still covering his mouth and shaking as he tried to keep from bursting into laughter. She glanced back down at the screen and kept scrolling.

"Gave my husband a second-degree burn after he fell asleep with his hand on my knee… whoops!"

"I dunno if this is common for everyone, but I flare up when the heat first starts. Like, it's really intense heat for the first five seconds. My poor, patient husband had his arm wrapped up the first time it happened because the burn was so severe(We had our arms linked together)."

"Ya, that's normal. Man, I can't even tell you how awkward it is to be at lunch with your GF's and your mom-in-law and they all turn around and start smirking at you bc you're suddenly a million degrees."

Mal turned off the phone and handed it back to Ben, carefully feeling her skin even though she knew, logically, that she wouldn't be able to feel anything. Ben put it back in his pocket, covering his mouth with two fingers as he stared at her, waiting for her reaction. She stared into his eyes for a few seconds and then shook her head. "No comment." She told him. Ben nodded in agreement and turned back to their friends, who were waiting for an explanation. "He found a weird article about the two of us again." She lied to her friends.

Evie hummed. "I found one the other day. It was talking about how Mal had put Ben into a magical sleep and was keeping him underneath the palace while Harry Hook posed as Ben."

Ben snorted and put his head down. His brain was still fried from searching for what could possibly be the cause of Mal's random burst of exothermic energy. Jay and Lonnie laughed though, and Jay slapped his knee. "There was the one I saw at the store the other day – It was about how Audrey had killed Mal and then started pretending to be her so that she could still be with Ben."

"Audrey and I literally haven't been a thing for seven years now," Ben grumbled with a smile still frozen on his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "She's married!"

"I have a news story for you right here," Carlos mumbled. He held his phone up a little and let Jane read over his shoulder as he rolled his eyes at the screen.

"Let's hear it." Mal hummed, setting her hands on her knees as Ben ran another hand down his face in shock.

"Magical pregnancies usually involve a sudden rise in body temperature that lasts from the point of implantation until the end of gestation." Carlos read. "A female, especially one with fae blood herself, may find that her resting internal temperature is about 118 degrees, which is hot enough to sustain third-degree burns over longer periods of exposure."

Evie's mouth dropped open and Jay let out a series of unintelligible noises as he pointed at Mal suddenly, whose cheeks turned bright, bright red. Ben covered his face and finally began to laugh hysterically. Lonnie squinted as she tried to figure out what was going on. "Wait, wait, wait!" Jay exploded. "So you got pregnant, like, right there?" He pointed to the couch. "Like, five minutes ago?"

"I don't like this symptom," Mal whispered. Ben was too busy laughing to console her. She covered her face by dipping her shoulders forward and holding a hand underneath her forehead, hiding her eyes.

"Shoot. What are you going to do?" Evie gasped. Doug elbowed her with an eye-roll.

"They're married, E." He snorted. "It's not exactly a horrible thing that Ben's wife of three years is pregnant. It's not like we're all seventeen and she's just lady of the court."

"_Just_ lady of the court?" Jane harrumphed. "But yeah, Evie, they're adults now. Did you forget?'

Evie blinked slowly in a way that illustrated quite clearly that she had, in fact, forgotten. She looked a little shell-shocked. Ben finally managed to straighten up. He leaned over and kissed Mal's cheek. "Well," He sighed, still shaking his head incredulously. "That was excellent timing, I guess."

"No kidding." Mal stared at her arms with a wrinkled nose. "Can we just… not talk about it right now? Ben and I need to talk first and figure out what's going on."

Mal reached over for his hand and squeezed for a moment. Ben let her keep his hand for a few seconds and then pulled it away and waved it to cool it off. "We need to get an abundance of fans and ice packs." He sighed. Jane burst into laughter and doubled over as Mal pinched her lips and sulked. Ben turned to the Fairy Godmother's daughter. "Did you know about this?" He asked.

"No." Jane laughed. "But thanks for tipping me off. And hey, in the future, you guys don't have to come up with any elaborate schemes to tell us."

Mal groaned. "I can't believe that just happened." She sighed. "I think… I might turn in early."

"You okay?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow. Mal nodded and gave two thumbs-up, though she still looked a little shocked. She got up and walked towards the door of the library. No one said anything until they heard the knob click into place behind her. Then Carlos let out a breath.

"I didn't realize how warm it had gotten around her until she walked away" He mumbled. The remaining seven burst into laughter, nodding in agreement. Jay, Carlos, and Lonnie leaned over to thump a half-beaming, half-embarrassed Ben on the back as Evie, Doug, and Jane let out simultaneous breaths. The entire situation was so surreal that no one even commented on it.

* * *

The second time went a little better, if only because they were alone when it happened. Zach was three and they were still the only people in the group with a kid, though rumors were starting to fly that Jane wanted one. She, however, hadn't lit up yet.

Ben's workday had run over with meetings and so he'd walked in late, after Mal had already put Zach down in his nursery by herself and turned in. As he opened the door and pulled his crown off his head with a heavy sigh, he could see his wife's frame curled up in a half-moon shape, facing her side of the bed. Her shoulders were bare, so she'd evidently tried to stay up for him, but running a kingdom and raising a son were just as hard on her as they were on him. Ben set the crown down on his nightstand and leaned over to kiss her left eyebrow, which was facing up. She didn't even stir. Completely gone. Ben sighed.

He shut and locked the door and threw his suit over a chair in the corner. He'd have to send for it to be dry-cleaned tomorrow. He plugged his cell phone in beside his crown and then slipped into bed beside Mal. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled him close to her, hugging her tightly. She didn't stir, which was mostly okay because he was tired anyway. He closed his eyes, buried his nose in her hair, and memorizing the way their skin felt touching each other – even though he'd already memorized it a thousand times in a thousand different ways.

His eyelids were growing heavier and her scent was slowly dragging him down to sleep when Mal let out a little breath that made him open his eyes for half of a second. And, in an instant, he felt like he was on fire. The feeling happened so fast he didn't have time to react to the sudden pain, but then his entire body felt very stiff and very, very warm. A mist was arising from the sheets as the warmth hit the cold air. He lifted his hand up. Even in the dark, he could see dark burns stretching across the skin where he'd been holding onto her, just like a sunburn. He turned his hand around, ignoring the way his skin felt like it had the maneuverability of plywood, and used the back of his hand to feel her skin. It was hot to the touch. Ben sighed and released her. He could hardly move as he rolled back over, carefully avoiding contact with her so he wouldn't have any severe burns in the morning, and stared at the ceiling in something like shock.

She was pregnant. Again. Holy crap. Ben covered his face with his hands and let out a disbelieving laugh as he imagined what his parents would have to say tomorrow morning. Mal would, of course, be suspicious about her own condition the moment that she noticed the burns that were likely covering his neck, chest, arms, and legs. He wondered how she'd react.

The next morning, he found out when he woke to Mal frowning down at him with squinted eyes, examining the angry red heat scars across his chest. "Did you get burned?" She asked, eyebrows knit together.

"You burned me," Ben informed her, raising an eyebrow and carefully prodding her arm.

Mal hit him with a pillow and decided to go back to sleep.

* * *

"Five minutes, that's all I'm asking!" Mal demanded as her irate children squirmed in their outfits. Zach was being better than Tyler, but not by much. Her eight year old fidgeted as he stared mournfully at the picnic basket in the far distance and trying to inch away from his mom, who was wrestling with Tyler.

"I don't wanna!" Tyler exploded, eyes flashing and green magic crackling at his fingertips. Mal balled her fists up.

"You have to! For five minutes while the photographer takes a photo of us and then we can go!" She snapped, fixing Tyler's shoe on his foot. "Zach, don't you dare!" She reprimanded him.

"It's not going to be five minutes, mom!" Zach groaned. "It's going to be hours and hours and hours!" He collapsed against the chair he was supposed to be standing by. Mal tangled her hands into her hair and fought back a scream.

"Need help?" Someone asked behind her, setting a hand on her shoulder. Mal whirled around, nearly smacking the person behind her with her hair.

"Yes!" She snapped, shoving Tyler's other shoe into Ben's chest. "You take care of your sons! They're just like their grandmother and I can't handle them anymore!" She stomped her foot at the two boys. Zach's eyes grew wide at being compared to Maleficent and he straightened up a little, looking ashamed.

"Okay, okay, Madame Dragon." Ben laughed. He bent down and put Tyler's shoe on. "Boys, you're stressing Mom out. We need one photo for the history books, and for the portrait in the front hall. And if you want, we can have you stand still for three hours so the painter can paint it live instead of taking a few photos and doing it that way." He gave both boys a stern look and they both let out groans. Mal pinched her fingertips to the bridge of her nose as Ben picked up Tyler in his arms. He kissed Mal's cheek. "It's only another hour, and then you can escape, and I'll take the boys swimming." Ben promised her.

"Escape to where?" Mal demanded. Evie, Jane, and Lonnie were coming up for lunch, but she didn't really see why that was supposed to be a relief. "Lunch and small-talk with your mom and all the girls is not 'escape', Ben. It's a prisoner exchange program. Except one jail cell contains constantly complaining children and the other contains constantly complaining moms." She crossed her arms as Tyler sneezed and lit Ben's shirt on fire.

Ben batted the green flames off his shirt and stamped out the ashes on the ground. Tyler's flames weren't usually dangerous. He frowned and carefully shifted his son away as the small boy whined and pulled at his dress shirt. "Whose bright idea was it to have a son with magical potential?" He asked.

"Not mine." Mal pinched her lips together. "I didn't get a say in either of them." She crossed her arms indignantly.

"You don't want me?" Zach's mouth dropped open and crocodile tears filled his eyes. "I'm sorry I'm acting like Grandma!" He cried as his nose started to run. "I still love you, Mommy!" He wrapped his arms tightly around her legs as Mal's eyes softened, though she looked skyward at his dramatics.

"Oh, baby." She groaned and leaned down to hug Zach. "I didn't say that. I do love you. I'm happy I get to keep my little prince around."

Zach sniffled and wiped his eyes. "But I'm not a prince." He mourned. "I'm just an evil, wicked dragon who's going to spell Charlie to sleep!"

"And… that's a sign we're not going to let you play with Audrey and Chad's children anymore." Ben jumped in, sending a pointed look towards Mal, who nodded in exhaustion. "Listen, sport, keep your head up. Everything's going to be fine. You're going to be awesome. You know, above all else, a good king has to believe in himself, even when things get hard. Don't listen to what people say about Grandma or Grandpa. You're not the Beast or the Evil Fairy. You're you, and you're a great kid." He leaned down and hugged both small kids to him. "But, it would be great if you could not complain about the photo anymore. If it helps, Mom hates them more than both of you combined, and she puts up with it even though she doesn't get to go swimming afterward."

"Mom can't swim." Zach pointed out, wiping the last of his tears away. Mal wrinkled her nose. Of all the things she wished Ben would have never have told their children about her, that was near the top of the list.

"Fine," Ben conceded. "Mom puts up with it even though she doesn't get to maybe have snow cones down at the lake afterward."

"Snow cones?" Zach exclaimed, brightening up and letting a smile break across his face.

"Snow cones?" Tyler repeated, accidentally kicking Mal in the leg as he flopped his feet out while staying attached to Ben's hip.

"Yes, so be good or else we might have to worry about mommy turning into a dragon and burning the snow cone shop to the ground." Mal threatened half-heartedly.

"Is everyone ready?" The photographer called, finishing adjusting the settings on his camera and adjusting for the lighting levels looking out over the lake. Two chairs were set up facing the camera. Mal sighed and looked over to where Belle and Adam had been patiently waiting beside the car, watching Ben and Mal wrestle the two young princes. "Let's start with the boys, do mom and dad, and then do the whole family before our zwei kinder go down to the lake." The photographer suggested, winking at the young boys as they shifted in excitement. Mal exhaled, leaned back against Ben, and ushered the two boys forward to the photographer.

Ben took her hand and leaned down to whisper: "Please don't tell them they're acting like Maleficent anymore." Mal could only sigh and nod in agreement.

The promise of snow cones and swimming combined had finally won them over. Both Zach and Tyler sat still and paid attention as the photographer took photos of them. Mal was proud of Zach especially, since he apparently needed forty-million photos, being the future king of Auradon.

Oh. Wait. She didn't like that idea. Zach would be King one day. Mal squeezed her eyes shut. Thinking of her little boy all grown up and in her husband's place made her heart feel black and sad, and she didn't want to do it ever again.

Taking photos with Ben was nice because he kissed her cheek and held his touch there, and whispered jokes into her ear to make her smile, and her sons were behind the photographer making silly faces to brighten her day. So all in all, it wasn't a bad experience. There were an awful ten minutes where Belle and Adam got their pictures taken and the boys had to be entertained, and then finally they were on to family pictures.

"Now, let's have Mom here and Dad here," The photographer instructed, arranging them on the chairs. "And then little Tyler, do you want to sit on Mom's lap or Dad's lap?"

Tyler stretched his hands out to Mal, and called: "Mom!" Which made her feel a little happier even though she knew he'd be complaining in about forty seconds. Zach sat on Ben's lap, and they all held their best smiles for about thirty seconds while the photographer snapped a shot of them.

"Done!" Zach declared, reaching to unbutton his shirt and bracing his frame to start dashing back to the car for his swimsuit. Tyler started kicking his leg up and dropping it back down against Mal's leg. She pinched her lips but said nothing.

"Woah, champ!" Ben exclaimed, catching Zach's shoulder before he could undo the first button. "We've got to get grandma and grandpa in, now. Remember?"

Zach let out an insufferable groan and collapsed into the dirt. "I want to go swimming!" He complained.

Ben stood up and Belle sat down beside Mal. Adam took up a place behind Belle and Mal, and Ben stood beside his dad. Mal continued holding Tyler, who was still kicking his foot into the air, and Zach took a begrudging place behind Mal, with his hand on her shoulder. As the photographer got behind the camera, Tyler began to squirm, making Mal tighten her hold on him. He kicked a little harder, and his shoe went flying off, landing in the ground about twenty feet away.

"Tyler!" Mal groaned, leaning her head back. Belle laughed and patted Mal's leg in consolation. Mal felt like the queen had no idea what this was like, though. She'd raised one child with beast blood, not two.

"I got it." Ben sighed and left his post to retrieve the shoe.

As he left, Mal felt Adam put a hand down on her shoulder and squeeze it comfortingly. "You're doing great." He told her. "I wish I had video footage of trying to get Ben to sit still for his portraits when he was growing up."

Mal could only groan. She watched Ben pick up the shoe and turn back around, and Tyler squirmed even harder, wanting to be let down. She pulled him tight to her chest and growled. "Sit still!" She demanded.

Suddenly, Belle yelped and ripped her arm and leg away, which had been brushing Mal's side. "Goodness gracious!" She exclaimed. In Mal's arms, Tyler had burst into screams, and angry red and brown marks suddenly covered his skin. Adam cursed – loudly, and a word Mal did _not_ want her children repeating – while Zach yelled in pain and panic and dropped to the ground dramatically at her feet while holding his scorched hand. "Mom's gone dragon!" He yelled. "We're all gonna die!"

'What?" Mal gasped, her arms loosening as Tyler began to scream even louder. She watched Belle quickly take Tyler out of her arms and glimpsed more red marks covering him, exactly where she had been holding him. Her eye twitched, and she turned to stare at Ben, who had watched the scene unfold with a dumbfounded expression.

Adam felt her neck, the closest exposed skin, with his unburned hand. "You're like a furnace." He informed her. "You must be at least twenty degrees warmer."

"Congratulations?" Belle asked, trying to calm her irate grandbaby as Zach rolled over, face-first, into the grass and began to howl with his nose into the dirt.

"I've been burned!" Her eight-year-old wailed. "Mom burned me!"

"What happened?" The photographer asked slowly, staring at the family in confusion. Behind her, Mal watched a blue convertible car pull into a parking slot with three bodies inside of it. One, dressed in fiery pink and orange, jumped out and raced over in concern.

"Why is everyone screaming?" Lonnie asked, gasping for breath as she caught up to Ben, who was slowly coming back to his sense and was beginning to realize that they were in a very public place with two royal children who were screaming about their mother burning them. He dragged a hand down his face slowly and shook his head.

"Go back to the car, Lonnie." Ben sighed, and took a few tentative steps towards Mal, stepping over Tyler, who was hiccupping and fussing about the burns on his body, some of which had tiny little risen bubbles appearing on them. He set the shoe down and offered a hand to Mal. "Are you oka-" He began.

Mal shoved him, hard, and stood up in a flurry. She kicked her shoes off in the grass and stepped over Tyler before making her way to the car. "Leave me alone. I'm _done._" She declared. Ben watched her go, yanking pins and clips out of her hair and turned back to assess the damage. Two burned hands, one of them on a rather dramatic eight-year-old, one burned hand, and leg, and one very badly burned five-year-old. He sighed and covered his eyes. "Boys, we might have to skip swimming today to, ah, go to the hospital." He carefully took Tyler from Belle and unbuttoned the child's shirt to see how badly the flare had hurt him.

"Mommy _burned us!" _Zach howled. "She was gonna light us on fire!"

"She wasn't," Ben assured the crown prince. "Listen, Zach, I need you to pay attention for a second. Mommy can't really control that heat. It's something that happens to her that tells her she's going to have another baby."

Zach's eyes bulged out. "Right now?" He exclaimed.

"No, no." Ben shook his head. "Not for a few more months. I'm sorry you got burned. Mommy didn't mean to burn you. That's just her body's funny way of saying she's going to have a baby. It happened with both you and Tyler too."

Zach sulked and looked down at the red marks on his skin. He hadn't gotten it too bad. It just looked like a very small and oddly-shaped sunburn. "So, Mom's going to have another baby, like Aunt Evie just did?"

"Yeah." Ben sighed, and carefully redid Tyler's shirt. The worst of the damage was on the little boy's hands, and some burn cream would clear it up soon enough. "Hey, how does an extra-large snow cone and no swimming sound in exchange for getting a new sibling in a few months?"

Zach wrinkled his nose. "I don't want another Tyler!" He exclaimed and broke off into several pitiful groans. "I wish Mom had turned into a dragon instead!" He turned around pointedly, crossing his arms, and Ben rolled his eyes as he gathered Tyler into his arms. "We'll have to try another day," He told the confused photographer, who nodded and began to pack up. Evie and Jane appeared behind her, surveying the scene as Belle and Adam examined each other's wounds.

They met his eyes, trying not to laugh. Ben pointed a finger to them both. "Not a word." He cautioned. "You both had to go through it too, so not a word."

Evie and Jane could only laugh as Ben took his quivering five-year-old to the car, where Mal had plugged in some headphones and was listening to Isle music with her eyes closed and the seat leaned all the way back. "She has the worst timing," Evie whispered to Jane, who could only laugh in agreement as the photographer packed up, and the party broke off before it ever actually began.

* * *

The last baby was a girl, and Mal was absolutely done after that. And where once-upon-a-time Ben had wanted more children with her, dealing with twenty-seven total months of not being able to touch her for extended amounts of time(Which kind of forced him to cut back on his favorite things to do with her) and then dealing with the "normal" things like morning(all-day) sickness and sleeplessness and cravings(No, Mal, you can't have five pounds of salt of everything!) really convinced him otherwise. So they stopped at three and three was fine. Three was actually more than fine. Three was three more than Mal had ever planned on growing up, and three was a good number to keep track of, and of those three only two could use spells, so all was well.

Even just one was fine, really, because that one got her off of the throne. She and Ben retired at age forty-two, and Zach(who eventually mellowed out and became less dramatic) became King of Auradon. He ended up marrying Charlie, Audrey and Chad's daughter, which wasn't necessarily a relationship that Ben and Mal supported in the beginning but worked out well enough in the end. Tyler hasn't married yet, and the last girl, Belle Marie, is dating around and not really playing seriously. Mal loves her daughter, but she wishes she could have at least one Sunday dinner with her where Marie's phone isn't blowing up with messages from random guys(and girls) who want to date her.

Ben agrees.

It's nine a.m. on a Tuesday and, for once, they're having breakfast together. Well, except for Charlie, and Marie is dragging her feet today. Charlie is down in the royal stables, Mal thinks, and is getting her horse hitched up to take to Auradon Elementary for the day. Zach is rushing a little bit, walking out of the room and down to his office before returning with papers and pens and – oops! – he forgot a stapler so he's back out again. Tyler doesn't even notice as his brother wanders in and out of the room. He's too busy eating all the marshmallows out of his cereal before trying to coyly steal more, thinking Mal won't notice even after all these years. He's twenty-two, but some things never change.

Mal gets up to steal a few more strawberries as Ben plays a math game on his phone. She has no idea how he can concentrate. Nine a.m. is an evil hour and no well-minded person should wake before the hour of eleven, in her opinion. It's been years since she was a delinquent at Auradon Prep, but again, some things never change.

Marie staggers into the room with a bed head and a bathrobe and a collection of different-pitched yawns. She slumps into her seat and crosses her arms and lays her head down on top of her plate. Mal's daughter share's her opinions about mornings. "They're more evil than Grandma and shouldn't exist."

"Morning." Mal hums. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine." Marie yawns and Mal set her plate down beside Ben's and then reaches over to rub Marie's back a little.

"What are your plans for-" She cuts herself off, and then squints at her daughter's skin suspiciously. Marie's neck is warm. Far, far warmer than just a fever. Mal presses the back of her hand to her daughter's cheek, shocking the teenager awake, then feels the side of her neck before she turns to Ben with a dumbfounded expression.

"Why are you touching me?" Marie complains, batting at her Mom's hands. "I'm fine, Mom."

Ben, however, has looked up and has his head tilted in that way that Mal remembers from years ago when he'd hug Evie or Jane and know, immediately, what new eventful thing was going on in their lives. His lips pinch together in a fierce, angry line, and he leans over to touch Marie's cheek as his expression goes even whiter.

"Stop!" Marie moans and hides her face away. Ben and Mal examine each other, and neither is quite sure how to break this news to their daughter.

Zach reappears in the doorway and laughs when he sees Marie curled up on top of her plate. "Hey, Rie." He laughs, and leans over the table to push her hair aside and send light streaming into the dark prison she's building around her head. His joking expression turns to shock and horror as he jumps back, holding the same hand he burned all those years ago to his chest. "Oh my gosh!" He shouts, and finally shocks Tyler out of his stupor.

Tyler looks around, eyes flashing a little bit as he calms down from his surprise, and gasps: "Where's the party?"

"Why are you all warm?" Zach demands of his sister. "You're like, five-million-degrees!"

"No, I'm not!" Marie frowns and finally sits up. "I'm not warm at all!" She runs a hand up her own arm to prove it, and Mal exchanges an exasperated look with Ben, who is looking increasingly angry about the entire situation.

"You totally are! You're like a furnace!" Zach protests. "It's like when mom-" He cuts off, and Mal watches her son connect the dots. It is probably a good thing, she thinks, that he's experiencing this deductive reasoning with his sister before he ever experiences it with his wife. Poor Charlie will, however, suffer along with him from the heat.

"Wait, she's all lit up?" Tyler asks, and then pushes his seat back and jumps out of his chair. He puts about ten paces between himself and Marie and stares at her in horror. "Are you going to burn us?" He yelps.

"Burn you?" Marie asks. "I haven't cast any spells!" She looks toward her mom, the magical expert in the room, for help and notices her parents exchanging tight-lipped and amused expressions. "What?" She demands.

Ben turns off his phone, shaking his head, and picks up his glass of orange juice. "You better call your boyfriend." He mutters.

"What?" Marie asks. Mal sets a hand down carefully on her daughter's shoulder.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I found out I was pregnant with you? People with Fae blood… they flare up and can actually burn people. Tyler was burned all over his body because I was holding him. Zach only got his hand. And then after that intense heat, you just stay warm until it's over." She watched realization, and then horror appear in her daughter's eyes and took her hand away. "Just food for thought. Usually, you can't notice the heat either. Only if you're completely human." She sits down and watches Tyler and Zach slowly calm down and return to their seats. Marie looks like she's been hit with a freight train as her eyes bug out. Mal isn't quite sure what to do. They live in a palace with servants and thousands of rooms, so there's not really a financial problem, and there'll be plenty of time to comfort her only female offspring when she's not soaking in the information, so she figures that for now, it's best to make sure her daughter gets her head wrapped around her own situation and then maybe later they can express their disappointment in the situation. (Unfortunately, she's an adult now, so they can't do much more than that.)

And everything kind of has a way of figuring itself out, so she lets it be and focuses on trying to help Ben not explode into death threats towards whoever dared defile a Princess of Auradon.

* * *

**I have a new long-term story coming out soon(probably this weekend). Look out for It'll Be Us. Also, if you haven't read it, I'm about to drop a major chapter for Her Royal Highness on Wednesday morning, so keep an eye out for that as well.**


	4. Depressed

**Please know, I am in no way patronizing, condemning, poking fun at, or in other words, disrespecting the tender subjects of depression, cutting, or suicide. Even though this story does not feature suicide, I feel I should put that on the list as well. It is not good to poke fun at other people's pain, sorrows, and hardships.**

**And I do not own Disney's Descendants.**

* * *

**They all do it. Drag the silver across their wrists, their ankles, their hips. It's a shame hers and Evie's don't show, because it's almost as if their problems don't exist. A horrible proposition for someone like them. Trigger Warning: Depression, Suicide, Cutting. 1/5 (Old and unedited)**

* * *

_They all do it. Drag the silver across their wrists, their ankles, their hips. It's a shame hers and Evie's don't show, because it's almost like their problems don't exist once the scars fade. A horrible proposition to them, considering the backgrounds they come from._

Mal knows she won't be able to hide it forever. Even now, Ben is slowly putting together the pieces and trying to figure out the reasons. The reasons behind why Jay keeps a small, sharp blade tucked into his belt or tied to his wrists with durable leather everywhere he goes. It's why Evie has all the dark make up and sometimes will put it on around her eyes, on her cheekbones and other places on her face, neck, arms, and legs, to make it look like she has bruises, even though no one has ever seen an actual bruise on her. It's why Carlos will stumble into breakfast with red, black, and blue circles under his eyes after having been up all night, too petrified to sleep.

It's why she herself smiles her odd, mysterious smile and covers for the other three. Saying small things like "She's thinking of helping out with stage makeup." or "He accidentally got himself in the eye when we had a pillow fight last night.".

Ben used to eat it up, but one day the tight wrappings on Jay's wrists had broken. He'd left the room almost as soon as it happened, but the sudden release of pressure on the... wounds under the wrappings had caused them to bleed, and Ben had spotted the blood. Suddenly it was the king himself looking into every little thing that happened, questioning everything.

"Hey Mal, I never noticed it before, but Evie has a knife on her bedside table. Why?" Mal blinked and stared for a few seconds. "It's for her sewing. She uses it to cut the thicker fabrics she works with." She lies while reminding herself to put that knife away.

"Mal, sweetheart, Carlos doesn't look to well. What's up with him?" Ben asked while slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, he's just feeling a little out of sorts." She says smoothly.

"Shouldn't we take him to the doctor?" He asks concernedly.

"Ben, you know how we feel about Doctors." She replied with a crease in between her eyebrows.

After a while, he began to suspect she was in on it too.

"Mal, why do you always wear long sleeve shirts?" He asks her one day as they are walking through the extensive castle grounds. Jay and Carlos are running ahead, pushing each other into the bushes (by god she doesn't know how they do it with their wrists and hips, but), and Evie is just behind them walking and applying a fresh coat of lip gloss. But they all stop, or at least slow their movements so they can listen in. Evie lets the roll-on lip gloss slide slowly once, twice, and then three times. But Mal shrugs offhandedly and says: "It's just something I'm accustomed to." And to prove her point she slips off her jacket. The shirt underneath it is loose, long, and brown, but her wrists are clearly exposed. Scarless.

He stares a moment then quickly averts his eyes. When he does, he sees Carlos and Jay are watching with trepidation and turns to see Evie is looking at him above her mirror. But they all quickly avert their eyes and go about their business.

It makes him suspect them even more.

* * *

Dinner with the former King and Queen is always tense. They still don't care for Mal, her background, and the fact they tried to sabotage Ben's coronation. But they are politely withdrawn, and take great care to only speak with her when in the best interests of Ben. Even then, they act like strangers meeting her for the first time. They always leave when Ben's patience wears thin, and he can no longer stand the small comments both of his parent make about nice girls they know of, or how villains don't make the best queens.

But tonight, it's different.

Ben gives his parents a halfhearted, distracted hug, and then sits in the wrong seat - twice. (They all have allotted seats when they come to visit, and Ben's never once forgotten this.) He'll say a few lines to add on to their conversation occasionally, but overall drops off in the middle of his sentences and doesn't pay attention when asked questions. Mal and Evie exchange frequent concerned glances and at one-point Adam turns to glance concernedly at Belle. Jay and Carlos just shift their eyes toward their plates.

After attempting to go over currant Auradon affairs, and how is school going, and even going as far as to ask if he'd consider meeting Azalea, the daughter of Aladdin (To which he focuses long enough to say No.), the King and Queen turn to Mal and begin to start interrogating her. "What is wrong with him?" "What did you do?" "Why is he like this?"

And Ben finally wakes up. "Mom! Dad!" He says angrily. "How dare you accuse her of such things?!" Belle heaves a sigh of relief as she slumps back in her chair, but Adam stares hardly at Ben for a few long, awkward moments before slowly standing. He wipes his mouth with a handkerchief and leaves without another word. Ben sighs tiredly, and looks at his watch. His gaze flickers between each of the villain kids. "I apologize mother, but given the circumstances I believe it would be best if we departed."

Belle nods numbly, and Ben drops his voice a little. "I would like a few moments to speak with you in private before we leave." Belle nods again, and Ben leans down to kiss Mal's cheek before he crosses the table to lead his mother from the room. Evie breathes a sigh of relief as they leave. Carlos picks up one of the knifes on the table and turns it over in his palm. They all watch him carefully, as he turns it one way, then another, then places it back on the table. "Silver." He mutters quietly. Mal finds herself unconsciously nodding. The King and Queen always lay out silver, because even though Mal is only part fairy, iron still burns and irritates her skin.

It's one of the reasons the four of them carry silver knifes, not iron.

Jay is picking at the wraps around his wrists, and as he lifts one, she sees the dried red on the bottom and swallows hard. She sees movement out of the corner of her eye and turns to see Carlos shift in his seat. At first, she wonders if the wounds on his hips are hurting him, but then spots the missing knife on the table. He'd slipped it into his pocket. Evie blinks slowly, the only sign of emotion on her face; she must have seen it too.

Mal starts to bite her cheek. Gnawing on the tortured flesh. Then she pretends not to notice when Jay and Evie both slip a knife into their sleeves. So long as they don't mention anything when she grabs one herself. It turns her stomach, but it's become an addiction to each of them.

They all sit in silence, reading each other as much as possible before Evie says, "What do you think they're talking about?"

Jay and Carlos shrug, but then Mal looks straight at Evie until the blue-haired girl answers her own question. "Us?"

Mal nods weakly, and then all falls silent until Carlos reaches into his pocket and places the knife back on the table. "They'll notice." He mutters. "Best not to give them anything else to worry about." Jay slips his back onto the white cloth and says, "We already have enough." And Evie follows saying "Not like we need them anyway."

Mal slides hers onto the table, but doesn't say anything.

Ben leads his mother back into the room sometime after. Her face is a tad pale, and she gives them each a small, sad smile. Her eyes linger a few seconds longer, before she averts them. Ben lets go of her arm and moves to escort Mal instead. Jay and Carlos, ever in sync, stand up at the same time and thank Belle for dinner. Jay helps Evie up and escorts her back out to the car. Carlos trails along until Mal gestures him up by her. He shuffles forward, and Mal slips an arm around him.

He glances up at her startled, and she knows it's not because she put her arm around him.

It's because she slipped the silver knife from the table back into his pocket.

* * *

It's late when they get back. Carlos, in the car, whispered his thanks for the knife. and she nodded softly. Ben walks with them up to their rooms, and just before Mal slips inside her room, Ben grabs her arm. "Could you come upstairs with me really quick? I want to talk to you about a problem that came up with Isle of Lost. I want your input on it."

Mal blinks. Was this what he had spoken about with his mother? She had been so sure...

She nods and he slips an arm around her. Leading her away upstairs to his private study, where he takes care of the kingdom. He opens all the doors for her, and then kisses her hair before she slips inside. The room is dark and he turns on the lamp on the desk. He's reaching for the light switches when there's a knock on the door and a maid pokes her head in. "Your Highness, I apologize, but your presence is needed in the formal room."

Ben sighs, and then says "Sorry Mal. I need to go. I should be back soon. Just... make yourself comfortable."

She nods understandably and he leaves, the maid following him.

And she is alone.

She goes to sit at his desk and fires up the computer so she can browse the internet. As the loading circle spins, her eyes wander, and fall on a long, slender knife on the side table.

She stares for a moment, and her mind briefly wonders why Ben would have such a knife simply laid out, but she doesn't dwell on it for long. As the password screen lights up the computer, she stands and walks to the knife. Steel. She's never used a steel knife. She wonders if it would hurt because steel is made from iron.

She lifts the leather wrapped handle, and the blade glints in the low light. She holds it at an angle, and then presses it to her wrists. A long, even cut forms, as if by some sort of magic. She closes her eyes for a second, then re-angles it, preparing to take it back across her wrists.

Then the door opens.

Ben stands there, rubbing his eyes, before he looks up and sees his girlfriend, blood leaking from an even slice in her wrist, and staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.

And he swears.

"Mal!" He launches across the room faster than he's ever gone in a tourney game, in one of his races with Jay and Carlos, or when they were chasing each other with cupcake batter. He grabs her arm and pulls the knife out of her hand. The wound is healing, but he is freaking out, and insists on running to the bathroom at top speed for a handkerchief and water, and on spending five-minute dabbing frantically at the cut while she assures him she is fine, and it will heal on its own in a few minutes. When it finally stops bleeding and he wipes away the blood, she is momentarily amused by the look of shock on his face as he sees the clear skin. Not even a scar is left.

"What? Wha-" He sputters, and she pulls her wrists out of his hands. "I'm part fae Ben."

He sits back, and she can see the wheels slowly beginning to turn and his head catches up with the rest of him. Then he rasps "How long?"

She shrugs offhandedly. "Since before we came here."

"Why?"

There is silence, and Mal wishes Ben could read her as well as Evie and the boys can. "I-I don't know. Things are different where we come from." She had hoped the gentle poke about where they come from would stall further questions, because even though Ben has heard little about the island, he is embarrassed by it. He considers it a rather large and ugly stain on his family's otherwise perfect ruling record. But alas, he completely ignores it and takes her hands. Staring up at her with the largest, deepest, saddest eyes she has ever seen.

"But _why_ Mal?" He asks, sounding heartbroken.

And. She. Bursts. Into. Tears.

"I can't." She sobs, and he pulls her forward into his embrace. Still she sobs. "We've always been like this. I don't remember anything else." She cries into his shoulder. He begins rubbing her back comfortingly. "We?" He asks softly. "Carlos, Evie, and Jay?" She nods breathlessly. "It's not fair!" She says. "They have their scars and marks but Evie's and mine just go away! Because I'm a fairy and she was cursed by her mom. We all have the same p-problems, but ours won't show!"

Ben pushed her off him a little, and her heart stopped. Was he rejecting her?

But then he moved forward and kissed each of the tears off her face. He lifted her wrists, soft, pale, and kissed them both gently. Then he looked deep into her eyes and said "You are beautiful. Please stop."

She starts crying again.

Carlos, Jay, and Evie are all taken to the infirmary early the next day. By order of the king, none of the Doctors are to speak to anyone, and no one is to even know they were there. Carlos was the worst. His hips and wrists were badly infected and torn to perfect, even shreds. His legs weren't as bad, but were gruesome to say the least. Jay was next. His wrists had been wrapped so tightly when they removed the wrapping it was like someone had collected a gallon of blood and dumped it. Horrible. Bits of torn leather had found their way into his skin along with dirt, sweat, grime, and bits of string. It was difficult to discern muscle from skin, and the whole thing gave off a repulsive scent. And yet still not as bad as Carlos.

Evie had showed her clean wrists and explained the string of painful curses that had been inflicted on her when she was young. The Doctors had examined her and told her that until they knew more about the curses, there was nothing they could do. The library was cleaned out in Auradon, and a search party sent to the Isle to interrogate the Evil Queen.

And Mal?

Well she had Ben to kiss away her tears... and find the knives she held on to and dispose of them...and to hold her at night and tell her all the individual things he loved about her...

So really, she was alright in the end too.


	5. The Many Misconceptions of Lady Mal

**To be Frank, Sir Cogitaire is incredibly nervous about his trip to the historic Beast's Castle since the new queen is, well, a former villain. However, upon his arrival, he discovers an amazing intensity to the relationship that is King Benjamin and his new wife Mal.**

* * *

**The Many Misconceptions of Lady Mal**

To be perfectly frank, Sir Frank Cogitare hadn't been looking forward to his stay in the notorious Beast Castle. In the past, the Royal Council Meetings that occurred every summer solstice had excited him. The servants were kind, the views amazing, and the list of sights to see was limitless.

This year, however, he packed his bags with much trepidation and anxiety. The reason? The new queen.

Only four months prior, King Benjamin and his girlfriend of almost nine years had finally gotten married. Before then, he'd been fortunate enough to visit the castle while Lady Mal had been away, but this year she was guaranteed to be in the castle.

The girl was a former villain, one of the worst the Isle of the Lost had ever had. Terrible rumors circulated the kingdom about her. Was it true she had once murdered twenty pirates in her early teens on the Isle? Was it true she had given the king a love potion in order to seize Fairy Godmother's wand? What about the rumor that stated she still bears her mother's, Maleficent's, mark on her upper arm?

Frank shivered at the thought.

The servants wheeled his suitcases out to his car and wished him well on his trip. He accepted their wishes with great trepidation. The car ride to Beast Castle shrunk by years, and as he pulled into the notoriously grand castle, he couldn't look out the windows for fear she would be there... standing... waiting.

The car finally stopped, and a footman came to open the door and help him out. The first person he saw was King Ben, extending a hand and a smile. He quickly scanned the surrounding people for the publicized purple hair the queen sported, but it was naught to be found.

She wasn't there.

Frank shook both kings' hands and former Queen Belle's before he voiced his concern.

"Might I inquire where Queen Mal is this fine day?"

The light in Ben's eyes shifted as he thought. "She's currently out of the castle. Out on a service rendezvous."

"Ah." A weight came off his head. "When will she be returning?"

"Ah, not to worry." Adam chuckled as he clapped Frank on the shoulder and gestures him toward their palace of a home. "She'll be returning in the hour."

Frank swallowed and smiled. "That sounds lovely." What were the chances he could finish his week-long castle business in an hour? He stretched and yawned. "I'm actually rather tired. The journey was more taxing then I recall it being."

The new King Ben nodded in understanding. "Do you think we could lay out what needs to be done before you go take a nap?" He asked.

Frank's mouth dangled open as he tried to think, but then he reasoned: scheduling wouldn't take long. Chances are they'd be done long before Lady Mal returned to the castle.

He smiled and said: "That sounds lovely."

Ben, Adam, and Frank made their way up to the King's study. Technically, Adam wasn't needed, but he was still allowed to sit in and give advice. Frank was stunned by the change to the room. The royal blues and bright yellows were still there, but now accents of purple were found throughout the entirety of the room. One of the many purple objects in the room was a warped piece of stained glass set in the shape of a heart. Frank shivered.

Ben took a seat behind the large desk he'd inherited from his father, and produced a blue folder.

"As I understand it, you haven't submitted anything outside the usual for Chateau d'Or. I assume this is a list of the supplies you used in the past year?" Ben gestured down at a lengthy part of the paper. Frank nodded.

"I did make a note that we're putting a lot more trash out than you said we should in our proclamation earlier this year." Frank tried to relax; the queen wasn't here… he wasn't in immediate harm's way. Ben waved him off.

"It's fine. To be perfectly Frank-" He choked suddenly. "I mean, sorry-" He glanced nervously at his dad. Former King Adam was shaking with laughter. Ben swallowed. "Sorry, sorry Frank. To be honest with you, Mal was only really hoping to set trash goals with that law."

Frank gulped. "Mal?"

Ben nodded. "Yes. We have rising trash problems in the Isle, so Mal and I devised a kind of five-step plan. We also had to take into consideration the needs of the Auradonian citizens, and what resources we were allocated, but in the end, it all worked out."

Supplies to the Isle? Is that what he was hearing? Exactly how much was going over there? Enough to start a revolution? He smiled at the young king. "That sounds lovely." He half-whispered. He pushed his sweaty palms against his pant legs.

Someone knocked on the door. Frank almost jumped out of his skin. Surely the queen wouldn't dare barge in on a meeting in progress. Oh dear, this was it. She'd walk in, and take one look at him, and with her magical prowess she'd immediately read his mind and he'd die a horrible, horrible death at the hands of a villain.

A servant poked his head in the room at Ben's call of affirmation. Frank twisted his hands anxiously, leaning to catch a glimpse of that tell-tale, abominable _purple_. There was none.

"Hello, Lumiere." Adam smiled. The normally-exuberant former-candlestick dipped his head gently towards Adam and then spoke to Ben.

"Pardon my interruption sir." He began. Ben waved him off. Frank, finally convinced the queen was not waiting outside the door, began to relax, sinking back into the comfortable chair in front of the king's desk. Lumiere continued: "You asked me to inform you when the Queen had returned to the castle."

Frank stifled a hiss as he dug his nails into the arms of the chair. Bits of wood finish stuck underneath his fingernails as his mind went blank with panic. King Ben flicked his wrist up and observed the time. "Huh." He said. "She's back early. Where is she?" Back early, back early. She must have known. He hadn't suspected her magical prowess was nearly that strong. Did she know where he was, even now?

"The Lady returned and went straight to your room." Lumiere hesitated, shifting his weight awkwardly. "I, er, I think it best you go and see her?"

A crease appeared in Ben's forehead as he stood. He nodded to Frank and his father and told them simply: "We'll have to adjourn this meeting at a later date. Please excuse me." Lumiere moved aside to let him through and waited at the door for Frank and Adam to leave. The former beast put a strong hand on Frank's arm and guided him past the door.

"I worry for him." The former king whispered in Frank's ear. "This doesn't happen often. She usually goes straight to him." Frank glimpsed the King up ahead, walking at a brisk pace, and realized they were following him. Fear gripped his frame.

"Ah, er." He stumbled over his words. "The, ah, queen?" He finished awkwardly. The king nodded and kept his arm steady on Frank as he guided them through the castle.

Frank's mind scattered. The king was leading him up to his death. He must be under some sort of spell! Was this what happened to all visitors at the castle? Murdered and their kingdoms left for the villains to plunder?

Ben stopped outside of a door and knocked. He called the queen's name, and put his ear to the door, his hand resting on the knob.

Frank strained to hear.

And hear he did.

He heard a sniffle and a small cough. Then Ben's face twisted and so did the doorknob under his grip. He stepped back as it opened, and then the infamous hair the media loved to cover appeared. It framed a face so enchantingly lovely and sad that Frank forgot to be afraid.

This was the queen? She looked different in real life.

She took everything in around her, reminding Frank of former Queen Belle. She picked up on the two men down the hall and he heard her whisper: "Ben, you didn't need to come up. I didn't know you were in a meeting."

Ben looked sideways at the two men he must have already known were there and turned to hide Mal from their view. They spoke softly, but he caught every word that echoed off the walls.

"Missed you."

"Missed you too."

"What happened?"

"Nothing I'm not used to. Who is this? You should introduce me."

"Mal,"

Soft, tired, but hard around the edges, Frank assessed. She looked absolutely exhausted, with her hair ratty and a bit of dirt smudged under her lip. Green eyes floated over him and the king, and he wasn't afraid for some reason.

Ben pulled her into a hug, and the green eyes vanished as she buried her head in his shoulder. He heard her start to cry softly as Adam quickly lead him back down the hall.

"She-" Frank stumbled for the words. "She didn't seem as intimidating as she was on my screen at home." Adam laughed at him despite the somber mood that had settled over them.

"Mal still faces a lot of opposition in our kingdom, especially from the older generation. She works hard to teach the citizens empathy, work, and ethics. Yet for all her hard work there are still those who say she is waiting for a chance to strike. She wants a better life for all, not a spoiled life for some while others starve." Adam rubbed Frank's shoulder as they walked. Frank twiddled his thumbs as he considered the King's words.

"Ben works hard to help others accept her. It hasn't been an easy change for any of us; the villain children still scare a lot of people." Evie, Jay, Carlos, Frank remembered. He didn't know where any of them were now, only that Mal was queen and sometimes the other kids would visit her and the newspapers would have a field day. He swallowed. Adam pushed a hand through his hair and sighed. "There's so much good we could do for everyone, but there's still so much fear." He clapped Frank on the shoulder.

"Well, here you are. It was _lovely _to talk to you again." He gestured to the door they'd stopped in front of. "Get some sleep old friend."

Sleep never came.

* * *

One of his favorite bored activities was to wander the halls of Beast Castle. Thousands of years of history lingered in the forms of paintings, books, and artifacts. As he wandered, he suddenly found himself back in familiar territory. Down the hall, the light in the king's study was on. He crept closer and heard voices.

"-sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"What's got you so hung up anyway?"

Queen Mal and King Ben. He leaned closer.

"Just stress. Ariel and Eric will be arriving tomorrow, and Arendelle decided to switch out which sister was coming to the solstice meetings." Ben replied. A shadow danced in the light from the doorway.

"Again?"

"Again again. Anna decided she couldn't afford to come because their little girl came down with the flu, but that means Elsa will be here. She's nice enough, but…"

"I've met her Ben."

"Oh, right."

There was silence. Frank contemplated knocking.

"I'm trying to work through a little more of my normal duties before I have to completely devote myself to Solstice work."

"Like what?"

"Spread of resources mainly. Upholding the law and working on the next villain kids and working out who wants me where."

"I think you should take a break for tonight. Come on, let's get you to bed." The door opened and Queen Mal led her husband out of his office. They were facing away from him and continued whispering as they walked. Frank hesitated, then looked back into the office. They'd left the light on. He poked his head in. He hadn't noticed, when he'd been in there earlier, the papers that were piling up, the stacks organized as much as chaos could allow.

He examined the calendar that sat on the King's desk. They'd run out of space on the squares, and layers of sticky notes were placed upon each date. He swallowed and turned to leave. As he faced the door, he met two very, very green eyes.

"Snooping are we?" The Queen asked with a smirk. Frank began to sweat. She extended her hand. "I'm Mal. I don't believe I've met you?"

"Frank, I- I'm Frank Cogitaire." His hand was sweaty as he shook her palm.

"Pleasure." She said curtly and moved behind him. She went to sit in Ben's chair, and Frank swallowed. He'd only ever seen the very large figures of Kings Ben and Adam there and seeing Mal's tiny frame occupying the seat was unnerving. Even more so when she pulled her sleeve up, glanced at her wrist, and then flipped her fingers up, down, and from side to side, muttering under her breath. It was a spell, he realized and stiffened. As the sparks faded, he looked around, but nothing looked different.

Mal picked up a portfolio and began looking forward. A speed-reading spell? No, she was reading at a normal pace. Had she bound him? No, he could still move around freely.

"Erm, Pardon me your highness, what was that?" He twittered.

She shrugged. "Just a basic luck spell. I don't want to mess up on these." She pulled another portfolio over and began copying down information.

"Does… Ben know you're doing this?" He inquired, leaning forward on the tips of his toes.

She glanced up at him with a sassy smile. "Are you gonna tell on me?" He gulped. Her eyes flickered back down to the papers. "No, He thinks I'm still upstairs with him. But, he's out cold, so he won't be looking for me for a while." She checked something off. "I figure I can work through these for a few hours until I get tired or until Lumiere kicks me out, whichever come first. That way he won't have as much work to do."

"So you're… what?"

"Just helping him catch up. He's very busy and so I try to help lighten the load." She checked a few things off and marked something on a sticky note before she gave a frustrated growl and swished her fingers over all the sticky notes on the calendar. Frank jumped back. The squares for the individual dates grew large and the colored paper melted away. At the same time, the squares were dictating themselves and neatly-written ink was appearing.

"Before you ask, that was simply making everything on the sticky notes transfer over." She said. She sounded annoyed. "I get that not everyone in Auradon is comfortable with the idea I can conjure and erase matter."

He suddenly felt quite… guilty. His hands dropped to his side. He stood there quietly as Lady Mal continued to file papers, copy information into a more readable format, and highlight things to help Ben find them easier. He realized at some point that it was no longer polite for him to stay standing there and he should just ask permission to leave but… the stack of papers was dwindling and it had never occurred to him that the queen would try to help out her husband.

Mal rolled her chair over to the filing cabinet and attempted to cram a portfolio into it. When it didn't work she sighed and snapped her fingers at it. Everything straightened up. Having had the same problem at home, Frank could only imagine how helpful that skill would be if he had it. It was a thought he'd never had before.

"If you don't feel comfortable with leaving, feel free to take that chair over there."

He sat down and felt faint. He hadn't realized how long he'd been standing. He didn't miss the way the queen rolled her eyes though, and briefly felt an irrational sense of distress well up. She wouldn't hurt him. The most he'd seen her use magic for was for luck and organizing.

"Surely you could just snap your fingers and the entire stack would be done, yes?" He asked.

"No." Mal shook her head. "I mean, yes technically, but ever since I got married and was legally able to help with Ben's work the public officials have been giving Ben a lot of crap about magic. They want to make sure he's not under any spells when he signs something, they want to make sure there aren't any invisible contracts included in the document that he unwittingly agrees to, things like that. You know every law is magically binding, yes?" Frank nodded. "They don't want him to endanger Auradon. Or more specifically, they don't want me to endanger Auradon. So, they check everything I might have touched and if there's any sort of magic on there besides the law magic they flip out. The most I can use is my luck spell." She sighs as she slips another portfolio into the cabinet. "And even if they weren't waiting for me to mess up so they can send me back to the Isle, the particular spell I'd have to use to make this autocomplete itself would mess something up. Like, if there's a bad law that could hurt Auradon, it wouldn't know, and it'd just sign it into order under my name. There'd be nothing we could do about it then."

Frank nodded in understanding. "So, everything has to be done by hand."

"Yes, and truth be told it's better that way." Mal hummed as she continued examining the folder.

"Why do you bother with the luck spell then?" Frank asked.

Mal met his eyes for a second and he felt that familiar ice begin to creep down his spine. "Ben was raised here. I wasn't. He's taught me things and Adam's helped me out at this, but overall I have no idea what I'm doing. I actually have to make little lists telling Ben what I did so he can make sure it's all correct." She brushed a few papers aside and revealed a list on an index card. He hadn't noticed it before.

"Wow." He said simply.

"Yeah." Mal agreed. She put the folder down and ran her hands through her purple hair. She was tired, he realized, and run thin.

"It sucks." She said, and he snapped back to attention. "Being queen? It absolutely stinks. I never, ever wanted this."

Frank couldn't deny that riled him up. Maybe being a ruler sucked, but what also sucked is when the ruling queen didn't want her job. He could only imagine the upheaval if she'd said that around a member of the press. "Then why are you here?" He said a little too harshly.

She paused and considered her answer as she considered him. His anger left quickly. No matter what she did for her husband, she was still a very powerful faerie. Something that could destroy him.

"Ben." She said after a moment. "I love Ben. That's why I'm here. Believe me, if I could somehow rip Ben away from Auradon and let someone else rule I'd take that." She fingered the edge of the folder she'd set down. "But I can't. Ben's the king and he loves this country. So I bite the bullet and take him as he is because I love him, and he bites the bullet and makes sacrifices because he loves me. It's a daily thing. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves what we give up daily because we want to support each other."

"What could you ever be giving up? He made you queen, isn't that the world to you?"

Mal leaned back and rubbed the fingers of one hand together so that they became magically charged and little pieces of magical residue stuck to her skin. "I give up magic, freedom, my friends, my husband, my past. I have to fit into the mold of the queen, perform all the duties Belle performed before me. It's not exactly a small thing."

"Then what world would you prefer he give you?"

"A world where no one was demanding anything from him or me. He could play tourney like he liked to do and I could do magic."

As much as it hurt his pride to think so, Frank had to acknowledge that without context it seemed such a small thing. This was a new bride who wished her husband was around to love her more. She wished the world wasn't enforcing restrictions on her for something they didn't understand. Maybe that's why he never responded.

Mal continued work, and after four hours of complete silence, she'd managed to clear the entirety of Ben's desk except for a stack about 24 centimeters high on the very corner of said desk. Occasionally she snapped her fingers like Mary Poppins had when she'd come to visit Frank at his castle and everything straightened up: the white board, the map, the desk drawers, the pencil holder, the side table, the cords, and even the printer jumped to her aide, refilling and summoning and landing in perfect organization.

As she started on the very first folder of the last stack, Lumiere appeared in the doorway in a nightcap and gown. "Queen Mal?" He mumbled incoherently. Mal glanced up but said nothing. She spread the contents of the folder out and kept work up. Lumiere examined the room. "Again?" He asked. He twisted the clock on the desk to check the time. "It's half past three!" Mal flinched. "You have ambassadors from Arendelle, Arabia, Powhatan, Westerly, Tangletown, Motunui, Schwartzvald, and twenty-seven from Faraway arriving tomorrow for the solstice meetings! How are you going to manage?"

Mal mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "a lot of luck."

"Not funny," Lumiere sighed. He began shutting off lights. "Out, out." He yawned.

"Come on, Lumiere. Let me just finish this last stack and then I'll head to bed."

"You'll be up to four at that point. Go now." Lumiere fixed Frank with a cold look. "You as well. You have bags under your eyes." Frank felt his face.

"Just this last folder-" Lumiere snatched the folder away and Mal's mouth shut. Lumiere helped pull her out of the chair and usher her towards the door. Frank took a hint and slipped out a moment before Lumiere pushed Mal out on top of him. He jumped out of the way. The former candelabra shut off the last of the lights with a mighty yawn and locked the door behind him. He held the key up to Mal's face.

"This is the key to the office. You will take it up with you to bed and put it on Ben's nightstand, like you always do. You will not come down here and unlock the door." He palmed the key to her. "Yes, I know you do not need the key to unlock the door, but we both know what Ben and his family will say if I tell them you came back _after _I threw you out."

"You won't tell Ben, right?"

"I won't _need _to. You must have gone through the last three weeks of work he's been putting aside for after the solstice. How long were you in there?"

Mal shrugged. Frank felt dumbfounded. Three weeks of work? Lumiere groaned. "If I have to check the offices every night at midnight, I will. You and Ben should not be up this late ever." He pointed down the hall. "Bed, now. I'm going to escort Mr. Cogitare to his room and mark my words, if you're not there when I double around I'll go straight to Belle and Adam and wake them up."

Frank well remembered the days when his own servants had threatened to tell his parents about his sneaking around and gulped. He was glad none of them were nearly as frigid as the normally exuberant Lumiere was being.

Mal slipped away with her head bowed and Lumiere yawned as he walked Frank back to his room like he was a delinquent child. Not a word was spoken between the two men other than 'Goodnight.'

* * *

He managed to find his way downstairs for breakfast, a miracle since he'd had to wait for a servant to give him directions the last time he'd been here. It was easier this time because all he had to do was follow the sound of King Ben's laughter.

He entered the dining room just in time to watch Ben spit orange juice out his nose at a joke his wife was telling him. Bella and Adam were laughing along.

The queen was clearly tired, with dark shadows under her eyes, but she was happy and that disguised a majority of her exhaustion.

Upon noticing him, Ben stood and bowed to Frank. "Hello Sir Cogitaire," He said as he tried to wipe the liquid from above his mouth with a wince. "You're just in time for breakfast. The queen is entertaining us." Ben smirked at Mal. Mal raised an innocent eyebrow.

Frank took a seat beside the former King, who said good morning to him through his boisterous laughter.

The queen's plate was covered with a very large cinnamon roll and many, many strawberries. While everyone else had orange juice, she appeared to have a strawberry smoothie. Frank assumed he'd deduced her very obvious favorite food.

"Would you like to hear a joke?" Mal asked him. Queen Belle and King Adam leaned forward to give her their attention. Ben pretended, very deliberately, that he hadn't heard her. As he raised his glass of orange juice to his lips, she waved her hand and his drink became akin to an extremely carbonized white soda with many black bubbles rising rapidly. He took a sip and coughed before he reexamined his drink. But before he could spot the change, it'd turned back to orange juice. Frank snorted as he cast a knowing look to Mal.

"Alright. What's the joke?" He asked.

"It's a blonde joke but I only know one blonde." Mal said as she reached up and pushed Ben's hair off to the side in a ridiculous style.

"No, you don't. Carlos is a blonde."

"Carlos has white hair."

"That's blonde!"

"Belle, define blonde please."

"Fair, or pale yellow."

"Mom, you're supposed to be on my side!"

Mal smirked. "Okay, three people, who all happen to look like this dork here-" Ben pouted. "-all go for a walk. They come upon some tracks. The first lookalike says 'Those are deer tracks.' The second says 'Those are elk tracks.' And the third says 'Those are moose tracks.'" Mal paused to sip on her smoothie as the four listeners pondered over her words.

"They were all still arguing with each other when the train hit them."

Ben snorted first and then dissolved into laughter. Frank couldn't stop himself from chortling as the former king and queen began to chuckle beside him. Meanwhile, Mal idly sipped her smoothie.

It occurred to Frank that he was sitting at a table with a woman who last week he'd shivered to see on TV.

"I accused Ben of liking his side of the family more than mine," Mal winked at Ben, letting Frank know that this was not an actual conversation the two had had. "He responded: 'of course not! I like your mother-in-law way more than mine!"

Ben's phone buzzed and he glanced at it and groaned. "This is from the Zootopia representation: 'Due to a complication involving city safety, Mayor Mindmammal will be arriving a day late.'"

Belle shook her head. "They always seem to be running into complications."

Adam nodded in agreement. "They really ought to just join us via video call."

"I don't blame him for wanting to be here though. The party is top notch." Ben said. Frank silently agreed as Mal twiddled her thumbs. As Ben took another drink, she flicked her fingers at her drink and the same black-and-white substance appeared. Ben sputtered again, but it was back to normal when he took a dubious look at it. Mal examined her nails as he fake-glared at her.

"What is that stuff?" Frank couldn't stop himself from asking.

"What stuff?" Mal asked innocently.

"It's a soda-pop she invented herself. It's actually quite good, but it throws you off when you're expecting _orange juice concentrate_ and suddenly your mouth is full of _shrinking and expanding bubbles._" Ben explained with none too few pointed looks at his wife.

"Shrinking and expanding bubbles?" Frank asked, not sure he wanted the answer to that question.

"They're solid and each has their own unique taste. They pop once they're in your mouth but it's still disorientating." Ben raised his glass toward his wife. She rolled her eyes and clinked her smoothie glass against his.

Belle cleared her throat lightly. "I heard somebody – sorry – two somebodies were found in Ben's office around four a.m. last night." She gave a pointed look to Mal and Frank, who shrunk and withered under her gaze.

"Four a.m?" Ben exclaimed. He spun in his seat and began to examine the purplette beside him. Mal waved him off.

"Lumiere was exaggerating; it wasn't _quite_ four a.m."

Former King Adam snorted, and rose from the table. "Sounds like a sorry excuse." He commented. "Unfortunately, I need to excuse myself to prepare to welcome our guests." Which was a nice way of saying he needed to fix the bush of bedhead on his scalp and also that a shower would do justice for the way his feet were dragging behind him. He took Belle's hand. "Want to stay here?" He asked.

The queen shook her hand. "No, I'd better leave too. It was lovely to see you all this morning." She allowed Adam to help her out of her chair and guide her to the door and Frank was reminded of Ben's unending chivalry with the purple-haired faerie on the other side of the table."

Ben was staring hard and Mal was pressing her finger idly on the ridge of the glass, making it sing. "How much did you do?" He asked.

Mal shrugged. "My part, I guess. You know that that responsibility lies on both the king _and _queen, right?"

Ben turned to Frank. "How much did she do?" He asked.

"Wait, you can't just ask him because I won't tell you!" Mal protested.

Frank suddenly felt very unsure of himself. "I – erm." He stuttered as he found himself faced with an unrelenting king and an adamant queen. "She, erm, did a lot but there's still some left?"

"How much is left?" Ben asked, stone-faced. Mal groaned and took about five strawberries off the plate to drown her repulsion for the conversation in.

"Um, one stack about-" Frank held his shaking hands up to gauge the height of the single tower on Ben's desk. "-that high."

Ben's mouth fell open in shock and he went very quiet. Mal had tuned herself out and was now sipping her smoothie and ravishing her strawberry supply as she admired the sunlight. Frank slowly moved back to his food.

"Thank you," Ben said, so quietly Frank had to look back up to make sure he'd heard it.

"It wasn't a problem," Mal said. She yawned a little and Ben began to chuckle.

"I appreciate you," Ben told her. The words sounded more sincere than anything Frank had ever heard. He felt like he was witnessing a private exchange as he watched the king take his queen's hand. She shrugged a little with a smile, and they sat there together for a small piece of eternity.

Lumiere appeared in the doorway. "Your highness, I regret to interrupt you but we have received word that representatives from Tangletown will be here in thirty minutes.

Ben groaned. "I guess I have to get ready then." Lumiere laughed at him.

Ben ran his thumb over Mal's knuckles once more and then released her. He stood up and took his plate with him as he left the room, desperately trying to finish his bacon. The two of them listened to his heels click away. About thirty seconds later, they heard him yell "Goodness gracious Mal! How much did you do?"

Before Frank could fully focus on his food once more Mal yawned loudly. She muttered a small spell and the bowl of strawberries refilled in the center of the table. She picked it up and offered it to him. "Want any?" She asked. Frank shook his head with wide eyes. Mal shrugged and stood up with the entire bowl still in hand. She walked out while simultaneously trying to stuff the largest of the strawberries into her mouth.

Frank sat back to consider what he'd learned: the queen had invented her own soda, and also she appeared to have a severe strawberry addiction. And jokes. About blondes. Specifically, Ben.

He shook his head and dragged the entire plate of eggs closer to him. Food; yes, please.

* * *

Three hours later Frank was wandering around the castle grounds. He'd already revisited all his favorite spots, like the love-lock fountain and the midnight circlet and the Beast's old rose garden, where Belle's father had plucked the rose that the Beast had claimed punishment for.

As he made his way out to the front, he spotted a carriage out front. Ben, Mal, Belle, and Adam were making their way down the steps towards it. Just before they reached it, a footman opened the carriage door and helped the matriarch Queen Elsa down. The ice queen was dressed in a darker blue gown with her characteristic slit up the side. She thanked the footman and turned to greet the four royals as her two girls hopped out of the carriage unaided. Little Ellen and Marie, 10 and 8. Only Marie had inherited her mother's intense powers, but Ellen was the future queen and the more serious, sophisticated one. Her power was held in her head, and Marie's in her hand.

While Belle, Adam, and Ben shook Elsa's hand and exchanged greetings, Mal knelt down and shook both girls' hands with a smile. She said something which made them laugh. Frank started to walk over.

One of the girls let out an excited speak – probably Marie – and they started squabbling and shaking their hands around. Elsa took Ellen's hand and examined it before she smiled and brushed her daughter's hair with her fingertips.

"What is it?" He heard Ben ask.

"Oh, I just animated their nails," Mal replied.

"Look Mama! There's a little deer in there now." Marie tried to shove her fingers into Elsa's field of vision.

"Wow, just like Bambi!" Belle commented. Marie giggled.

"We'd better show you into the castle," Adam commented offhandedly.

"Queen Mal, can I show you what I can do now with my powers?"

"Of course you can, but we've got to show you where you're staying."

"Oh, we already know. We were here last year."

"Then maybe you can lead the way and beat us all there?"

As Marie rushed ahead of the group and Belle and Adam began to talk with Elsa, Frank watched Ben slink to the back of the group and pick up Mal's hand. They followed everyone up the steps with their hands swinging between each other.

* * *

The things Frank witnessed over the course of the next week could only be described using the simplest form of words. He saw the King excuse himself from two meetings to hug his wife, once slipping out and reappearing so quickly no one even noticed he'd left. They were fond of quiet spots in loud rooms and the angles cameras couldn't catch. Frank learned to ask Lumiere where the royal couple were, not to try looking. The former candelabra was well acquainted with their hiding spots and always seemed to know where they were. The one time he hadn't known Frank had found them accidentally by watching dust fall (They'd been hiding on top of the chandelier).

Ben refused further questions from five different reporters who accused Mal of witchcraft. Mal fell asleep twice in his office, reading through paperwork he'd been too tired to get through. Ben kept strawberries for her in a small fridge in his office, and she brought food to him in-between meetings.

Mal would practice magic. She'd turn Ben's drinks into soda when he wasn't looking, and when she shook hands with any of the little girls, she'd animate their nail polish so the solid colors waved and the decorations danced.

He could see Mal and Ben dancing on their balcony from his window when he got up in the morning, even if they'd worn their feet out by dancing the night before. Ben stuck around so he could easily steal her away from judgmental people and goodness gracious he couldn't figure out what sort of signal they had for that!

The week flew by even faster than it had when Belle and Adam had hosted the event. After the long meetings and negotiations, the entire kingdom topped it off with an all-night party. Frank watched from afar as the king guided his wife towards the dance floor. She was wearing her cotillion dress, the one she'd conjured after returning from dragon form at the head of the cotillion ship. She hadn't worn that in ages. It was strange to see it on her.

He was sad that he'd have to go back home to his own, boring castle. Where there was no mischievous queen who liked to perform magic to play small pranks. So, as soon as the king rounded off the dance with her, he walked forward.

"King Ben, would it be acceptable if I took a dance with the queen?"

Ben shrugged and put his hands in his pockets with a goofy smile. "I don't know. She's right here, you can ask her yourself."

Frank turned a little red. "Queen Mal, could I please have this dance with you?"

"I'm… not a great dancer." The queen admitted. She twisted the edge of her glove. "But if you're okay with that then sure."

"I am." He assured her.

He only got one dance that night, but it was nice and the queen was nice and the evening was nice. He couldn't deny his entire opinion of Mal had been turned on its head since he arrived. In fact, he was admittedly jealous that the King had managed to procure such a bride, though he was proud to say he had a person of such great character as his queen. This he told Ben as a footman loaded his luggage into the carriage at the end of his trip.

"She really is one of the most amazing people I've ever met." He said.

Ben laughed. "Yes, I got lucky."

"I hope one day I can meet the other three members of the original four. How many kids are living in Auradon from the Isle again?"

"Almost 400." Ben smiled.

"That is just unfeasible." Frank shook his head. "Well, it was lovely to be here and I'm truly happy to say I have met the Queen." He turned to smile at the sarcastic purple girl. "I hope I get invited back next time."

Ben laughed with him. "Of course, old friend. I hope you have a safe trip back to your home."

"As do I. Until we meet again." Frank climbed into the carriage and waved at the four royals as they left.

Frank rode off into the sunset towards home enlightened. He couldn't wait for the next year to roll around and for it to once again be time to travel to the Beast's Castle for the Solstice Meetings.


	6. The Last One

**Short, sweet, and sad.**

* * *

**A disease took Carlos, Jay took himself. Evie left while staring out to her husband's final resting spot, and now she's finally the last one. Short, simple, sad. No Beta.**

* * *

The morning sun drifted across her cheeks and woke her with a dreamy smile. Mal smiled as she felt the sunbeams tickle her nose and looked up to watch the dust filter through the air. She stretched the joints in her neck a little and reached out to the other side of the bed, where Ben was still fast asleep. Mal liked mornings when she'd just woken up and she didn't have to be sad or upset.

It would start out as a dull ache when she got up and couldn't stand as straight as she used to be. Then it would turn into striking sadness when she looked at the old pictures on the wall. The ones from back when she, Evie, Carlos, and Jay had been the strongest people in Auradon, back before they all started to break. And back when Ben was still getting started and they all thought they had all the time in the world.

Sixty-seven years of marriage and this was the first time she'd woken up before him. His old age must finally be catching up to him. She'd been staying in til nine or ten and up until twelve or one every morning and night since her second child, but Ben had been raised on 6 am waking and 7 o'clock is sleeping in. She'd tried to convince him to stay in with her before, but he got restless, just like when he tried to pull her to bed before eleven at night.

Mal rubbed her hands together and popped her joints. She was old, now. Eighty-six and grey. Her hair had started to grey at sixty, and by the time she was sixty-five, she'd given up on dying it to keep the purple in. Her skin went paler, and the veins showed through her skin. She got wrinkles, one by one, and finally had looked in the mirror and discovered an old woman instead of the Isle-hardened teen she'd once been.

She'd lived, lied, leaped and finally loved. Almost everything she'd once known had faded away. The first to go was her mother, the Fairy Godmother, and then Belle and Adam. They'd died as Mal had grown. Adam had never even met his last grandchild before he was gone. Then, slowly, her own friends had faded out of this life and into the next. Uma and Harry had passed in a freak accident on the Isle, bringing an end to the life-long feud between the two. Carlos had caught sick one day, deteriorated, and finally asked to be put out of his misery. Jay had lived until he was sixty and his body started to break down, as hers was now, and made the decision to take his life – and death – into his own hands. Mal had been devastated to find out her oldest friend had killed himself and that their group was down to her and Evie, but she'd understood he was happier never having to know the pains that old age would bring. He was strong, fast, and smart. Old age would have hurt him more than all the horrors of their youth. It was better to remember him as he'd been, rather than what he was.

Evie had lost Doug when she was thirty-nine and lived alone the rest of her life. As the poor woman got older and older, her natural beauty had never faded, but Evie had fretted over every wrinkle, every mark. Eventually, her hair turned as grey as Mal's, she gave up on keeping up with the people around her and turned her dress emporium over to her kids. Evie lived out the rest of her days in the castle she and Doug had first put the down payment on and died looking out the window in their room towards where he was buried out on their grounds.

And now she was the only one left. The last of the original Villain Kids.

It was meant to be like this. The rise and fall of the populace. People were born, people lived, and people died. And she was okay.

Being the last sucked.

Mal had been queen, but she'd never really taken up the mantra like Belle had during her reign. Pose for photos with Ben? Sure. Answer questions? She could handle that. But despite everything, she'd stayed in the shadows, painted, and hung out. She and Ben had had four children together. Her first one, and the heir to the kingdom, had been born right before she'd turned twenty. She'd had two more in her twenties, and then the last child had been born when she was forty. And they'd all grown up, all done their own things, all went their own paths. And she was proud of them. Each of them in their own right.

Ben had forfeited the kingdom to their eldest son, and they had lived out their lives by traveling from place to place in Auradon and enjoying life together. His hair had thinned and gone white, Eventually, it had been her turn to open doors for him and help him from place to place as he got older and older.

Mal rolled over and poked Ben's shoulder softly. He was lying face-down in his pillows, facing her. "You're lazy today." She whispered. He didn't stir from his sleep. The clock on the bedside table over his shoulder read 11:07. She frowned. "I don't think you've ever woken up this late." She whispered.

She stroked the side of his face with her knuckles. His skin was cold to the touch. Mal jumped up like she'd been electrocuted.

"Ben?" She asked sharply. She pulled his shoulder and rolled him onto his back. She pressed her ear against his chest and listened desperately for any sound at all. There was nothing – no movement - under his skin. Mal grabbed his shoulders and shook him as best she could. "Ben!" She yelled. Tears filled her eyes. "Ben!"

The door to the room opened and one of the palace servants poked his head in as Mal covered her face with her hands and began to cry. He yelled back into the hall for help and rushed over. He took her hand, covered her shoulders with a blanket from their bed, and pulled her out of her bed as she sobbed. People rushed in, swarming the bed in a panic.

She already knew there as nothing they could do. Sixty-seven years of marriage and Ben was dead.

And that was it. She was officially the last one. The one who'd outlived everyone.

* * *

**Sheesh, this is the second sad thing I've written lately for this Fandom. The other one is Talking to No One if you're interested.**

**I do not own Descendants.**


	7. Cotillion Kiss pt 1

**I do not own Descendants or its related franchise.**

* * *

**A short preface on how exactly Uma managed to get the love spell on Ben. Alone in his suite preparing for Mal's Royal Cotillion, someone comes to see Ben with a strong sense of deception and vengeance.**

* * *

A plush carpet led into a white tile bathroom, longer than it was wide. The cabinetry was dark in color. A marble sink was set atop the drawers and a mirror reflected two-thirds of the bathroom back. A tan backsplash offset the blue paintings on the floor, and a small bottle of Dramamine sat next to a package of Seaband Nausea Relief.

Ben stood in front of the mirror, straightening his collar as he pulled a v-neck blue vest over his shirt. A gold sash that was supposed to go around his shoulder sat on the counter while a heavily-embellished jacket was hung in a closet in the attached bedroom.

As Ben smoothed his hair down and propped a foot up on the toilet lid to tighten his shoelaces, he heard the door open and close. Immediately, he assumed it was Mal, come for support. Or maybe one of the Isle kids, asking if he was okay after their rendezvous at the Isle of the Lost. He looked up and spotted a flash of bright, turquoise blue as someone moved into the frame of the mirror. Was it Jane? Or had Evie dressed Mal up in turquoise instead of the bold, royal blue he was wearing?

Ben stepped into the room, leaving his other shoe untied and the sash still on the bathroom counter.

"Mal?" He asked, then stopped. This was not Mal. This was a lady with many turquoise braids up in a bun. She turned, and he took a few steps back. "Uma." He corrected himself. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Uma blinked as if she, too, was surprised to see him, and then smiled. "Ben." She said softly. "I'm sorry to startle you. I just wanted to talk to you." She sat down on the bed in a delicate manner. Ben watched her look at the ground and take a deep, slow breath.

"What you said on the Isle, it really affected me. I guess… I never had anyone actually believe in me." Uma said slowly. She picked a little at the braids in her bun. "I came to apologize. For what I said. I'm all dressed up so I could get past the guards to tell you that." Uma picked at her dress, which looked almost like it was made of sea foam.

"Of course, Uma." Ben was still a little tense over having a resident of the Isle suddenly appear in his suite on The True Love, but he couldn't turn away someone who was so earnestly apologizing. "You know, my offer still stands. You can stay in Auradon. I know there's good in you. You could make life better for a lot of people on the Isle."

Uma chuckled, but her heart wasn't in it. He was looking at her dress, playing with the hems of one of the frilly layers. She sniffled, and when she looked up, he realized she was crying. He immediately sat down.

"Uma, what's wrong?" He asked.

She wiped her eyes, dried them on her dress, and gently placed her hands on top of his, which were folding in his lap. He stared at her, tense.

"Mal's so _lucky_." Uma hissed. "You're amazing."

"Thanks…" Ben trailed off. He tried to stand up, but Uma quickly seized his hands. Ben suddenly had a very bad feeling about this whole encounter.

"Please don't go!" She begged, brown eyes filling with more tears. "That's not the only reason I came back, and I-I need to get this off my chest."

Ben, against his better judgment, sat back down.

Uma took a deep breath. "I've never known a person like you." She said. "I've never known someone who would so selflessly venture into a land filled with villains in the hopes of convincing their girlfriend to return. And you were really brave, you know, the whole time you were with us. I really admired you. In fact, I felt something I didn't think I'd be able to feel – love."

"Uma," Ben stood up, now in full retreat. "I'm flattered, really, but I'm with Mal. She's going to be my Lady of the Court. You know, tonight."

"But it could be me." Uma protested. She carefully put her arms around Ben, who stiffened and stared at her with wide eyes. "Ben, I love you, and I know we could never be anything, but I hope you'll understand that I had to come tonight if only to try and –" Uma cut off in a small sob. Ben had never felt so awkward in his entire life. And that was before what happened next.

Uma used her arms around his neck to pull him down into a very wet kiss. He could feel her tears as she pressed her face to his. The only thought running across his head was 'oh no'.

If only Mal was here. If only he could rewind time and stop Mal leaving Auradon at all. If only…

If only he never had to stop kissing Uma.

He relaxed and brought his hands up to her cheeks as he leaned into her.

Mal… lady of the court, almost. Why had he liked her again? Uma… she was here. She told him she loved him. She kissed him. Mal had never done that.

But Uma had… something in the back of his head tried to remind him.

'It doesn't matter.' Something new in his head soothed the part in distress. Everything will be alright, just as long as Uma loves you.

When they finally disconnected, Ben met Uma's beautiful brown eyes. He'd never noticed, but they were the same shade as his mom's in the old pictures. He smiled. "Uma?" He breathed. "Will you be my Lady in the Court?"

Uma smiled brightly and nodded. "Yes." She accepted. "I'll always be there for you."

That statement felt wonderful to Ben's wounded soul. Mal had never said that to him. He kissed Uma's cheek. "I'll see you tonight." He murmured.

"Bye." She whispered and headed out of the room. Ben returned to the bathroom, feeling lightheaded as he tried to remember what it had been about Mal that had caused him to fall so desperately for her when it was so clearly Uma he was meant to be with.

Out in the darkened hallway, Uma slumped against the door in success. She let out a bright smile and pulled out a tube of lipstick, subtly coated with the same love potion Mal had used on Ben before. It wasn't a perfect brew – even for a perfectly-brewed spell it would still cause dangerous mood swings if the person already had strong feelings for someone else, but if all else failed she could kiss him again, right? So long as it lasted for tonight, everything would go to plan.

Everything would turn out alright.


	8. Cotillion Kiss pt 2

**This secondary oneshot is entirely dedicated to Anonymousnette, who requested it.**

When he first came out, he was blinded. After a few seconds of blinking, he looked down and saw her – Mal – at the bottom of the stairs. Evie whispered in her ear as her mouth hung open a little.

He felt like his heart was twisting in his chest. She looked lovely, really, with her hair braided and the beautiful crown on top of her head, but he thought of Uma, her brown eyes filling with tears as she begged for his love, and suddenly the only thing fueling his steps was the thought of her white smile.

Mal clapped for him with a bright smile, and then everyone around her bowed. She stepped forward. He walked down the stairs to her but couldn't bring himself to smile.

Why should he smile? He was about to ruin her whole night.

But it was for Uma. He loved Uma.

Why did Uma hate Mal so much?

He bowed with one hand behind his back and one tucked in front of his stomach, just the way his dad had showed him when he was little. Mal hesitated as her smile vanished, and then followed his movement, bowing instead of curtsying. He almost laughed.

Hadn't that been one of the things he loved about her? That she hadn't grown up in Auradon and had no way to address the royals they met, so she would always follow his lead even when she was nervous?

Suddenly he couldn't take his eyes off hers.

Uma. He suddenly remembered. She was about to come out. "Mal." He sighed. "I wish I had time to explain…"

He turned and looked back up the stairs as the girl of his dreams appeared at the top, looking nervous and afraid as she looked out over the sea of people.

Girl of his dreams? When had he dreamed about Uma? That had always been-

Mal gasped, but Ben's feet were already carrying him away from her. He returned up the stairs as people exchanged looks. His parents, the Fairy Godmother, Evie, Carlos, Jay, Lonnie, everyone. All except Mal, who was staring at Uma in shock.

He took Uma's gloved hand, led her down the stairs, stopped, reached for her other, and bent to press a kiss to his family's crest ring sitting on her finger. The one he was supposed to give Mal tonight.

This felt right. It was right. He adored Uma. But for some reason, part of his heart felt… grey.

She giggled as he offered her his hand, and he walked forward to Mal. "I'm sorry." He offered. "It all happened so fast." He couldn't stop the smile from slipping off his face at her grief-stricken expression. "Something happened to me when I was on the island with Uma – a connection."

Mal was absolutely still. "W-What are you saying?" She stammered. Uma shook with delight. Why was she delighted? Didn't she see how hard this was for Mal?

"I'm saying-" He started, only to be interrupted by the vision of the sea at his side.

"It was love!" Uma proclaimed. She looked at Ben fondly. "It was. I just… I realized how alike Ben and I are, you know?" She looked at Mal for affirmation, but Ben barely notice because he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"We are." He whispered.

Uma giggled. "I know." She agreed.

"You're so beautiful." Ben told her earnestly as Mal stared at him.

"Ben." Mal said. He didn't want to look away from Uma. Whenever he stared into those beautiful chocolate-brown orbs he felt like he was falling in love with her all over again. "Ben." Mal repeated, more urgently. The new couple looked at her at the same time. "Did you go back for her?"

It was funny, the way she said the word 'did'. It was almost like she'd almost said 'would'. Would you go back for her?

Of course, he would. Every fiber of his body was devoted to her. Yet, as he looked into Mal's eyes, he remembered why he'd met Uma in the first place. Mal. He'd gone back for Mal.

Would he really go back to the Isle for Uma?

Uma exhaled as she began to tell her story. About how she'd dove through the barrier and swam back to Auradon.

A thought occurred to Ben; How had she gotten a dress so quickly? And one unique as it was? It was almost had that ethereal feel to it, like when Mal had spelled the girls' hair at school. Maybe Uma was magical too? He must have a thing for magical daughters of villains.

He couldn't stop himself from complementing Uma even as she turned back to Mal, who looked close to tears.

Uma shook his hand tightly and let go. "Listen, Mal." She said, stepping towards Mal and taking her hand. Mal pulled back with a wide look in her eyes like Uma was burning her. "I just really want to thank you." Uma said with a laugh. "I do, for everything." She gave Mal a hug as Mal's hands came up to protect her from an invisible force. Uma continued to utter thank-you's as Mal held back tears.

Ben jumped forward. "Don't you see, Mal?" He asked. "You were right! You knew that we weren't meant to be together." He leaned forward. "That's why you never told me that you loved me."

He knew the minute the words left his mouth that they would drive a black spike through his heart for the rest of his life. Still, he whispered: "Thank you."

Something about looking into Mal's pain-filled eyes made him falter. Then he looked back at Uma and let go of Mal's hand as music began to play softly in the background. He began to dance with a bright smile on his face as they carefully ignored the world around them.

"Not too thrilled I risked my life for him." Carlos growled off to the side. Numerous guests nodded and exchanged uneasy looks at the newcomer as Ben and Uma bowed again. As Mal's friends continued to console her, Ben knew everything would be okay. The kingdom had come to love Mal, and they would love Uma just the same.

Mal started to leave, but Ben couldn't be bothered to notice. The spell of Uma's love was stronger than ever on him, and-

The spell?

What spell?

Suddenly, loud fanfare interrupted their dance. "And now, for the unveiling of King Ben's masterpiece!" Lumiere announced. "Designed especially for his lady." He added with a gesture towards Mal.

Mal, Uma, everyone turned at exactly the same time as he did. The curtain on the stained-glass window was dropped, and Ben couldn't help taking a step forward. It was even more beautiful in real life than the design had been.

It was Mal, in a flowing curtain of purple fabric, with her long purple hair that she'd lost for some reason after a few months in Auradon flowing out behind her. He was in his royal blues, taking her hand. It was the type of dress he'd hoped she'd wear tonight, though the Auradon colors did look nice on her.

Why had he ever stopped loving her? She was a more beautiful masterpiece than anything he could ever have commissioned.

He heard Mal speaking softly behind him, though he couldn't turn around. "Ben's known who I was all along." She said.

It was true. He'd always known, even from the first moment he saw her step out of the limo bringing them to Auradon. Even when she'd had blonde hair. Even when he'd returned to the Isle and refused his ring.

"Cover that back up!" Uma shouted suddenly from his side, rushing towards Mal just a little bit. He whipped around, for a second afraid that Uma would attack Mal.

Lumiere was shocked. "I will not." He refused in a cold tone.

People were murmuring. Why was Uma acting like this?

Uma turned around to Ben. "Why don't you tell everyone the present you got for _me_, Ben?" She asked.

Present? What present? This night was all about Mal.

"I have an announcement!" He proclaimed nonetheless. He held out a hand for Uma to slip her gloved fingers into. "Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady."

Surprisingly, it was his dad who first stepped forward to protest.

"Son," He started, shaking his head.

Ben exploded. He didn't understand why no one else worshipped Uma the way they should. Couldn't they see how amazing she was?

"Not now, Dad!" Ben yelled at the top of his voice. The sheer volume made him forget what he was going to say next. In fact, his mind was clouded. He stammered as everyone stared at him in shock. Most of them had never heard him yell before. He hadn't yelled since he was a kid.

"Uh, so as my gift to her…" He trailed off and had to look at Uma to remember what he was going to say next. Having Mal up on the stairs was clouding his judgement. "I'm bringing down the barrier once and for all!"

Uma looked around in triumph. Everyone looked panicked.

"Fairy Godmother." Ben said. "Bring down the barrier."

"I most certainly will not!" She protested.

"I am your king!" He exploded again. His head hurt – like little hot knives were being driven into the back of his skull.

"Obey him!" Uma supported the motion.

People were gasping, looking around for help, and in the midst of all the commotion, he heard Mal's voice. "Ben's been spelled."

He stared at her in surprise. Really? Spelled? By who? Uma would protect him from such things.

Uma grabbed his hands at stared at him, muttering under her breath. "Look at me." She commanded. He felt more stable now. More grounded, but then he heard heels clicking on the floor.

"Ben." Mal called.

Uma looked away first, and it was only after the eye contact broke that Ben could follow her gaze. Mal was walking towards them.

"Ben." She repeated. She stepped in front of Uma. "Look at me." She told him.

"No, look at me!" Uma demanded. "You love me, remember?"

"No, you don't." Mal insisted.

How would Mal know what love was? She'd never even told him she loved him.

"Yes, you do." Uma told him.

"Ben, look at me." Mal commanded. His eyes froze on hers involuntarily. It was like seeing the sun after coming out of a dark room. Suddenly, he could perceive where the world was.

"Bring down the barrier now!" Uma commanded as she whirled around to the Fairy Godmother. Why was she so worried about that now? Didn't she care that he might have been spelled?

"Ben," Mal began as more tears welled up in her eyes. "I never told you that I loved you because I thought that I wasn't good enough. And I thought that it was only a matter of time before you realized that yourself, but Ben, that's me!" She pointed at the window behind them. Ben turned to see it. It was nice how he didn't feel like he couldn't look away from Mal. There was a difference between wanting to look at a person forever and not being able to look away. "I'm part Isle, and part Auradon." She insisted.

"Ben, eyes over here." Uma hissed under her breath.

"And Ben, you've always known who we were, and who we can be." Mal continued.

"Don't listen to her." Uma insisted.

"Ben." Mal sounded more composed than ever. "I know what love feels like now." She told him. The words brought back memories. A sunny day, a cold lake, the feeling of being in love without feeling… pressured. Like he was now.

She smiled. "Ben." She whispered. "Of course, I love you."

He felt like his entire body was being held under weights as those words left her mouth.

She brought her hands up as she finished. "Ben, I've always loved you." She fumbled for a second, planted her fingers on his shoulders, and leaned in to kiss him. Ben pursed his lips just as she closed the last of the distance, and just like that day in the lake he felt something wash away. A spell. A lie.

She withdrew from him, and he felt like he was above water again. Light, carefree. He smiled at her. "Mal." He whispered fondly. Mal smiled herself and leaned her forehead against this as soft music continued to play in the background.

"True love's kiss." Evie whispered softly. Ben smiled at Mal. His very own true love. "Works every time."

Ben took his first few breaths of air, and hugged Mal close to him as all the pieces fell into place in his head seconds before the chaos broke out.


	9. If You Knew

**For a longer story featuring Ben/Mal, dragons, Mal breaking the Isle of the Lost's barrier from the inside, fights against Guardians and Goddesses, Maleficent's death, and a four-country war, please see 'Her Royal Highness' on my page.**

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**If you could know the future, how would you change it? Even if you knew your name would be smothered for generations for a good cause, would you do it? In which Belle, Maleficent, and others see Ben and Mal's life unfolding years before it does.**

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It was raining. The world was absolutely dark. Nothing could be heard over the pattering of the rain on the stone roof of the meeting house with the locked door and the shut windows. Rags and handkerchiefs had been stuffed around the holes to completely stop up the sound, but the cold crept in still.

The building was of an interesting design. It had once been used as a courtroom because it gave speaker's voices a good echo, was very large in size, and was in the shape of a very large oval with higher walls and a mix of dark tiling near the front of the room, where the accused would have been, and thick carpet near the back, where viewers would have sat or stood. It wasn't a bad place, Maci decided. In the inner rooms, it was warm with the two fires going on far ends of the room and the furniture with wood polished at least a century beforehand. It almost gave off a very homely feel, if not for the people inside of it.

The room was currently filled with argument and debate over a very large map that was being projected up onto the wall using some sort of light technology she was not familiar with. The map, however, and the people, she was very familiar with. A battle commander with a red suit bellowed as he pointed to several spots on the map, with his thin-eyed wife nodding behind him. A queen with bright green eyes and long, long blonde hair was frowning with her brown-haired, brown-eyed husband whispering furiously in her ear. And, of course, the Belle of them all, Beauty and her Beast were sitting up where the judge would have sat long ago, half-watching, half-listening as everyone pointed to different areas and continued their debates.

They were so different from their counterparts. Maci had just walked through the rest of the building and seen them. Given that the place had once been a court area, the rooms surrounding this curious oval were of a holding-type area. About twenty to thirty different types of people had been crowded in to await their sentence.

"We don't want them anywhere near the forestry!" King Phillip declared. "It'll be too hard to track them if they escape there."

"They won't escape, Phillip!" Naveen groaned. "There's a magical barrier, remember?"

"Anything is possible." Ariel reminded them with a pursed lip. "I still think it'd be best to put them under the sea, in a bubble."

"How would we get food and supplies to them?" Merida frowned. "Nothing can get down there except the mermaids, and we already agreed that Maleficent's goblins were going to do that work."

"Wait, are we actually sending food down there?" Tiana asked, leaning forward and squinting at the map. "Why should we have to support them? They can make their own!"

The room again spiraled into debate. King Adam groaned and laid his head in his hands. Belle patted his shoulder with a soft smile. Maci took a few seconds to admire them. They looked, she decided, exactly like the history books. Right down to the beauty mark to the left of Belle's eye. Incredible.

"Is there any way we can put them on a ship out of Auradon?" Moana groaned, sitting down against the wall and wiggling her cramping, cold toes. "I'll keep an eye on them and make sure they don't starve to death."

"They'd just follow you back to Auradon or sit there arguing the entire time and floating adrift." King Charming disagreed. "We need some place we can just put them where it wouldn't be too hard to get back and forth to them if we needed to."

Maci picked a red marker out of her sleeve and followed the light to a projector. Underneath the mirror that reflected the image onscreen was an actual paper map of Auradon. She uncapped the lid and drew a smooth, fluid circle around the tiny island off the coast of Belle's Harbor. "The Isle of the Lost." She announced to the room as they all began to examine the change she'd made. "That's where you'll end up sending them. It includes the Forbidden mountains and several different types of terrain. The barrier only extends to the ocean in places are the marsh and the pebble beach, which will eventually become the Isle Wharf. Meanwhile, small buildings will appear around here, with the three most important structures being Dragon Hall, Maleficent's Tower, and the Villain Kid's hideaway." She made red dots on the map as she spoke, marking each location despite the relative smallness of the map.

"We have Auradon citizens living there." Aurora pointed out. "Where would they go?"

"They'll settle in Auradon city and live next to Beast's Castle." Maci shrugged. She took off her hat – it was bright blue and knit, but very wet from being outside. Her curly black hair fell into her hazel eyes, and she had to put the hat back on to pull it back.

Queen Belle stood on the stand. Her yellow dress billowed out around her. "Pardon, but I don't recognize you. I don't think you were here when we started this meeting. Where have you come from?" She rested her hands on the stand and peered down at the young person.

"I'm sure, your highness, that if you try all the locks, you'll still find them secure and in-place." Maci informed her. She looked around the room. "You all miss so much." She sighed. "And none of you know anything yet. Has it occurred to you that one day, this meeting will be in the history books. Your children's children's children's children will read about this." She looked back up at the high King and Queen. "Especially for you. An entire line of kings come from the two of you. Why, I come from a time where the sixth king of Auradon is just about to take his place on the throne."

Belle let out a breath. The room had gone absolutely still. Maci smiled. "Bring in your villains." She told the King and Queen. "I want to tell you about something none of you have even bothered to consider yet. Something beautiful that I love."

Someone on the outskirts of the room – maybe John Smith or one of the seven dwarves – opened the dividing doors to where the villains awaited. "We're ready for you now." He told them.

One by one, defeated people in purple, black, red, and blue trudged in. Dr. Facilier walked like he expected someone to jump out at him. The Evil Queen hid her face as she trudged behind Jafar. And most noticeable of all was Maleficent, towering above the others and scowling at the King and Queen on the stand.

Maci pulled a little screen out from under her jacket, where it had been protected from the rain. She blew lightly on one end, and it unfolded into a large sheet of durable plastic. She managed to find the off-switch on the projector and hung the plastic up on the wall without any sort of attaching device at all.

"We've had five kings." She said with pinched lips as she tried to remember. "King Marshal will take the throne later this year, and his dad King Tyler James will step down then. Before him, there was King Abraham Mark, and King Zach Marshall. King Zach was the son of King Ben and King Ben was the son of Belle and Adam, the founders of the United Kingdoms of Auradon."

"King Ben?" Adam asked. He and Belle had descended their little platform to come back and better see the screen.

"Benjamin Florian." Maci informed him. "He's my favorite of the five. He focused his entire life on trying to heal relationships with the villains, and his example actually caused villainy to die out by the time his son Zach took the throne." She smiled at Belle and Adam. "But that's not even the best part. I wanted to show you this absolutely incredible thing that happened because the Isle of the Lost was formed, and the villains were sent away. I'm afraid, you all miss out on a lot."

The screen took on life. It showed a portrait of a newborn child, sound asleep with the inscription "Prince Benjamin" beneath it. Around the room, people sighed. Maci smiled. "Please, sit down." She told everyone. "This is Prince Ben. And this is him a few years later." She tapped the screen and ripples appeared her her fingers made contact, spreading across the film and revealing a new picture of an adorable little boy in a tiny blue suit with bright blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. He was looking into the camera with his chin ducked down a little and a goofy smile frozen on his mouth.

"He is the cutest thing." Aurora whispered. Tears were filling Belle's eyes.

"This is him all grown up." Maci declared. She moved the screen again, and everyone took in a little breath at the young man they saw, with the same eyes and sandy hair, but now with a blue shirt rolled up to the elbows and tan pants, standing in his office and smiling at the camera as he pulled a binder down. "He saw the good in everyone, passing laws against discrimination and advocated for civil rights." Maci informed the room. "But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about him and his wife."

"His wife?" Adam repeated, looking a little starstruck.

"Yes." Maci smiled. "They were just… amazing. It was true love." She brushed her curly hair back again as she collected her thoughts. "I put together this thing just on the two of them, so you could get a little glimpse of what life under their rule was like. He was kind and diplomatic and she was powerful and devoted. And they made each other so, so happy." Maci began to pull at an empty necklace around her neck as her smile grew brighter and brighter. "I have lots of clips from movies they were in about themselves, and news reels, and a lot of songs they wrote about each other. They liked to write songs in their spare time, so there's this arsenal of the most beautiful love songs in the world under their names." She looked up suddenly and glanced around the room. "Do you want to meet her? The future queen of Auradon?"

"Yes." Belle breathed, staring intently at the screen, where Ben was continuing to reach up to that binder. What would she be like? Would she have blonde hair? Brown? Black? Maybe red? How tall would she be? What would her smile look like? A million thoughts filled her head and began to spin her in dizzying circles.

Maci looked a little amused at her starstruck expression. She ran her hand down her screen, and the room became unexplainably darker. Electronic chords echoed off the walls as everyone took in, with more than a little confusion, a ruined street underneath a cloudy sky, with dirty people passing and one bright purple haired girl spray-painting what looked to be an image of Maleficent onto a wall. She spun around, budged through two people, and disappeared offscreen, leaving a feeling like spiders crawling over everyone's skin as she vanished. "They say I'm trouble, they say I'm bad. They say I'm evil, and that makes me glad." She crooned as she vanished.

The second young lady who appeared onscreen wasn't much better, in Belle's opinion. Blue streaks in black hair and silver apple accents. She stomped across a table of food and moved seductively in front of a passerby she caught staring at her. "So I've got some mischief in my blood. Can you blame me? I never got no love." She declared.

There were other people – two boys, numerous background people. Belle and the rest of the audience couldn't believe what they were hearing. "The truth is: you ain't seen nothing yet", "I'm rotten to the core" and combined with the villainous laughter and the vile expressions of the four children sent chills down the hero's spines, though Maleficent and her villains looked on in interest.

The scene ended with the purple-haired young lady leaned down with a sugary smile as she snatched a lollipop from a child passing by. Maci looked around at her audience's stunned expressions. "Did you see her?" She inquired. "She's a bit hard to miss."

"The blue one, or the purple one?" Moana asked, still sitting against the wall she'd dropped by.

"Mal." Maci presented, swiping the screen to reveal an attractive teenager with short, dark purple hair wearing a net vest over a tank top and fingerless gloves. "She was raised on the Isle of the Lost. Can you guess whose daughter she is?"

A moment of silence passed over the group as they considered what they'd seen. Then, slowly, all heads turned to Maleficent, whose eyes were growing narrower and narrower. "No!" The villainess snapped. "There is no way I would raise anyone to become a princess!" She hissed at the surrounding heroes to make her point.

"Well, obviously you didn't." Maci shrugged, gesturing to the screen. "She's not exactly what anyone would call a princess."

"That girl becomes Queen of Auradon?" Adam asked in a horrified tone. "How? There must be some mistake!"

"A girl like that – she would destroy all of Auradon!" Belle agreed with wide eyes.

"She tried." Maci acknowledged. "Prince Ben, for his first official decree, brings some of the children from the Isle of the Lost over to Auradon. Mal and her friends were sent by her mother to find the wand and use it to release them. They arranged to steal it at Ben's coronation and even used a love potion to get Ben to ask Mal to be his girlfriend, to get her as close to the front as possible. But she didn't account for one thing." Maci smiled as she watched everyone's expression spiral even further into doubts at the descriptions. She swiped down on her screen, and a voice that must have been Ben's filled the room.

"Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?", "For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful.", "Right now, I can look into your eyes, and I can tell you're not evil."

Maleficent looked like she'd swallowed a plum. Belle's eyes were as big as golf balls as the words reverberated into her skull. And that was before Maci swiped down on the screen and Mal appeared, curling her hair around her fingers and leaning against a grey pillar in an area Belle recognized as the enchanted lake. "A million thoughts, in my head. Should I let my heart keep listening?" She sang. And now that she wasn't yelling about how evil she was, Belle suddenly realized what an amazing voice this small child had. Her heart melted as Mal sang: "I can't decide what's wrong, what's right. Which way should I go?" And before she'd even finished the chorus, Belle had already decided that this idea didn't seem as immediately horrible as it had when it had first been presented.

"Am I crazy? Maybe we could happen?" Mal asked the empty world around her on screen. "Will you still be with me when the magic's all run out?" Belle felt Adam shift beside her as Mal brought her hands down in horror, as if she had just realized how horribly her plan had backfired on her. Adam slipped an arm around Belle's shoulders as Maleficent fumed a few feet away.

The video kept playing as Mal went to sit on the edge of the ruins, but Maci spoke up from the side of the room: "The same girl she sang 'Rotten to the Core' also sings this next one." She reminded the room.

Without pausing, the video flipped scenes. Deep piano music was playing. Three scenes appeared. One was of a boy with long hair looking conflicted as he stared at a sports trophy standing in his window. The second was of another boy, rolling over to pet a dog who was lying on his bed with him. The last was of a blue-haired girl examining a test booklet with the name 'Evie' on the front of it. They were the same three kids who had been with Mal in the beginning. Finally, the picture changed to Mal, who was in a kitchen with her face blotchy as she stirred something dark brown with a whisk in a metal bowl. Maleficent growled indignantly. "The anti-potion to the love spell?" She demanded. "Doesn't she know what she's throwing away?"

"A million thoughts in my head." Mal sang softly. "Should I let my heart keep listening?" She stopped stirring and braced her hands on the counter as tears filled her eyes. "I know it's time to say goodbye. So hard to let go…" A single tear fell from her eyes and into the mix. Mal sniffled and buried her face in her hands as she crouched close to the countertop with her shoulders shaking. Then the video ended, and the room brightened again.

Maci looked to Belle to see if she'd say anything, but she didn't. She turned back to the screen and began swiping. "They didn't end up ruining coronation. Jane, the Fairy Godmother's daughter, briefly stole the wand and accidentally broke the barrier. Maleficent appeared in Auradon, but Mal quickly turned her into a lizard." At this statement, Maci turned around to see Maleficent turning a furious shade of fuchsia. "So she remained. She missed a lot. Eventually, Mal was instated as a Lady of the Court. She briefly fixed a barrier breach that involved her dad and her two arch-nemesis's, and that was when everything I wanted to show you happened." She swiped on her screen, and pictures began to appear, fast paced and in beautiful color. Every single one was of Ben and Mal. Belle covered her mouth as she watched. Most were casual photos that were obviously being taken by friends. Mal pulled funny faces at the camera as Ben laughed at her. They were both looking over their shoulders, seconds before realized they were being photographed. Ben and Mal's fingers were tangled together, hanging over her shoulder, in between their frames, everywhere. Some scenes seemed to be from movies or poses, as they were clearly not as relaxed, but they were intense. Their faces were close to each other, sometimes their hands were knit up in each other's hair. In one, Mal was toasting a glass of something clear as Ben watched her with a soft smile on his face.

They aged right before Belle and Adam's eyes. There was only one photo of Mal in a wedding dress, with her long hair curled up and held in place with jeweled pins, looking over her shoulder on the palace balcony. Then, they were moving forward. There were a couple of shots of Ben and Mal with Evie and a little blue-haired boy before suddenly they were walking their own little sandy-haired toddler around

Maci looked to Belle to see if she'd say anything, but she didn't. She turned back to the screen and began swiping. "They didn't end up ruining coronation. Jane, the Fairy Godmother's daughter, briefly stole the wand and accidentally broke the barrier. Maleficent appeared in Auradon, but Mal quickly turned her into a lizard." At this statement, Maci turned around to see Maleficent turning a furious shade of fuchsia. "So she remained. She missed a lot. Eventually, Mal was instated as a Lady of the Court. She briefly fixed a barrier breach that involved her dad and her two arch-nemesis's, and that was when everything I wanted to show you happened." She swiped on her screen, and a sideways triangle appeared onscreen. "Listen." She invited as she hit it.

It was a song. That much was immediately clear. It appeared to be mostly electronica, and it was taking place in the palace ballroom. Mal was standing behind a DJ setup, sliding keys and mixing music while occasionally leaning over to press additional keys on a piano to add to the song. She was singing along to the song as everyone in the crowded room listened to her. "Here's to my real friends!" She sang, giving a smile as the camera panned up to see Evie, Jay, and Carlos standing in the front row, looking on with a proud smile. "They don't care about the _He-Said, She-Said!_"

"And here's to my _baby_," Mal crooned, pausing momentarily to toast a glass of fizzing champagne in Ben's direction with a fond smile. He returned the gesture, half-hiding a smile, and lifting what looked like a brandy to her. "He ain't reading what they _call_ me _lately. _And here's to my _Mama…_" Mal again let her fingers leave the controls to slide her fingers along the length of a glass terrarium which had been set in a sparse place in view of the crowd. "Had to listen to _all this dra-ma!"_

Mal toned the music down, wiped the sweat off her forehead, lifted her champagne, and toasted it in an inviting manner to the camera. "And here's to you…" She purred. "Because _forgiveness_ is a _nice_ thing to do…"

All went silent as the camera shifted back and forth between the hypnotized crowd, Ben still hiding a half-smirk, Evie, Jay, and Carlos whispering in each other's ears, and Mal, looking absolutely captivating as she burst into sudden laughter. "Ha-ha! I can't even say it with a straight face!" She laughed.

Without pausing, the video cut straight to some amateur footage of what appeared to be Ben and Mal holding hands, walking along the palace grounds. There was the sound of heavy breathing as the person filming hurried forward. "King Ben! Queen Mal!" They called. The two's heads whipped around, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?" Ben asked. He had a nice voice – strong and level. "The South Gardens aren't open to public visitors."

"I just had to see you guys!" The Filmer proclaimed. "Your new songs are amazing! When are you guys going to be releasing everything on the complete album? Are you going to be having any more songs like 'Hearts Don't Break Around Here' or 'Dress'? The public really seems to like that sensual side of you guys."

Mal's confused look melted into a wicked smile as she glanced sideways at Ben. Her eyes were sparking as Ben pursed his lips and looked increasingly cross. "It'll be out soon. But really, you shouldn't be here. This is considered private property and you are trespassing. Thank you for your support, but please, head back to the public grounds."

"King Ben, do you have anything to say on the rumors that you'll be releasing Maleficent back into human form to celebrate you and Mal's fifth anniversary? Or that you may or may not be announcing a new prince or princess this year?" The smile on Mal's face vanished and was replaced by a dumbstruck look. She swung her head around to look at Ben incredulously as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's going around again?" She asked.

"You'd think they'd learn after predicting that twelve different times, huh?" Ben groaned. He turned back to the interrogator. "Listen, both of those rumors are incorrect, and I'm serious, you need to leave now. Immediately, please, or I'll be forced to call the guards."

"Or the dragon." Mal grumbled under her breath, pinching her lips together and crossing her arms.

"Speaking of dragons, when was the last time you transformed?" The person continued, still ignoring Ben's demands.

Mal's eyes flashed. "If you're going to continue this, the next time will be rather soon."

"Stop." Ben put a hand on her shoulder. "Sir, please begin walking in the direction of the public gardens or I'll contact the guards."

"Queen Mal, what is your opinion on your good friend Evie's decision to market a specific clothing line to the Isle of the Lost? People are saying it's very probable that she won't be able to maintain it." The person, who was sounding like an independent reporter of some sort, asked while quickly advancing on the two. The camera was forced into Mal's face, and she pulled a ferocious scowl. Suddenly, a boom of some sort shook the camera and the person blew backwards several feet. Green flames appeared in Mal's hands and her eyes took on a threatening green light as some sort of bubble flickered into visibility around her. "We're done here." She announced, extinguishing her flames and taking Ben's hand again. The two turned and walked away quickly as shouts were heard in the distance. Someone was briefly heard yelling: "What are you doing over here?" before the footage ended.

Maleficent's hands shook in rage. "But… how?" She growled. "How could she give it all up? How could she betray me like this?"

"I don't understand how the daughter of a villainess became the queen." King Henry Charming declared. "And one like her – do the people not get angry over the fact she performs magic?"

"No." Maci shook her head. "She's actually the most popular queen we've had so far. People love how open and happy she was with the people. It also helped that she publicly denounced evil several times."

"Why?" Maleficent demanded, leaping to her feet. "She could infiltrated the government and ruled all of Auradon! Why would she give it all up?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Belle breathed, ignoring the increasingly irate fairy witch. "They found something greater."

"Something real." Maci affirmed. "And they ushered in a beautiful new era of Auradon as well. The average standard of living was at it's highest point yet during their reign, especially in the later years when Prince Zach and Princess Dyran had been born and were growing up in the palace. Princess Dyran would actually go on the marry into the common folk on the Isle of the Lost and was essential in reintegrating them to the country and fixing the problems in that place. By the time Prince Zach took the throne, Ben and Mal's grandson Abraham was born along with Princesses Mae and Taelynn, and the two passed away, the Isle had already been declared a mistake and the country had worked to heal bonds with those victims of the Isle. In my time, the Isle is just a bad memory. Essential for the reparations it brought around, but an embarrassing reminder of how clumsy the country was in its first days."

"Then why do you want us to even instate it?" Tiana asked, brushing her brown work dress off. "It's all gonna be undone anyways."

"No!" Belle gasped suddenly. "If we don't make the Isle of the lost, then Ben and Mal will never grow up to meet each other like they did!" She clasped her hands to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

"But Belle." Adam interrupted with a deep frown. "You saw what those kids looked like. The Isle of the Lost was a horrible mistake. Can we really doom an entire generation of children to grow up in squalor just for our son's love story?"

"There's a chance he'd fall in love with someone else." Prince Phillip pointed out. "Maybe one of the Auradonian kids."

Ariel shook her head. "I don't feel right about either option." She admitted. "How can we make either decision? On the one hand, an entire generation suffers and Auradon remembers our mistakes for generations, but we know that the wrongdoings will eventually be undone. On the other, we have a chance to rectify everything and make it so no one has to suffer period, but we won't know if we fail or not."

"I won't allow my daughter to marry an Auradon prince!" Maleficent howled. "After all the things you've put us through – after all our struggles! All for nothing, because she'll erase all the hardship like we never suffered at all!"

Maci blinked sadly at the remorseful group. She turned and dragged a finger down the screen. The frozen shot of Ben and Mal walking away on the palace grounds was replaced by one of Mal in a car with Jay in the seat beside her, and Evie and Carlos visible in the backseat. Without a prompting from Maci, the picture began to move and speak.

"What's the next question, Evie?" Mal asked as a seashore flew by in the background.

"I'm looking, I'm looking." Evie grumbled. Carlos leaned forward. "You know, you'd think you'd be sick of cameras since you've been in front of them since we first arrived, but no, you have to do the anonymous question interview with us. On vacation. When Ben is in the other car and can't stop you from saying anything stupid."

"Ouch, Carlos." Jay said, raising his eyebrows. "Throwing shade much?"

"It's the Isle in me." Carlos rolled his eyes. "Blame my mother."

"Most-voted questions." Evie announced. Her face fell. "Oh, here's an interesting one. 'Assuming the Isle had never been created, where would you see yourselves?'"

Jay took an anxious inhale. "Ooh, that's a risky topic." He thought aloud. "Because if the Isle didn't exist then… we never would have gotten away from our parents." He glanced over his shoulder at his friends, who were all nodding along.

"Yeah I probably wouldn't have ever set foot in Auradon Prep and I never would have met Doug, much less married him since he's not a prince." Evie frowned, looking a bit sick. "I'd still be completely brainwashed by my mother."

"Ugh." Carlos groaned. "Life without Dude, without Jane, without my work." He shook his head. "To be honest, I might not even be alive. I think Mom only kept me around so I could be her servant. She might have left me somewhere if she didn't live on the Isle and wanted to have someone run her errands for her."

Evie put a hand on Carlos's shoulder as the boy took a short breath. Jay leaned over and punched Mal in the arm. "Queenie here wouldn't have gotten married either. Fat chance Maleficent would have let her."

"Don't call me that." Mal whined as she let go of the steering wheel with one hand to punch Jay back. "But you're right. And without Ben and Auradon Prep, I probably would have stuck with Mom and…" She trailed off, biting her lip. "Auradon wouldn't have been able to progress as much either, since they'd still be dealing with the villains. So we'd be militarized and Auradon would fear the villains kids, and yeah, long story short, Ben and I would never have been a thing, and my mother may or may not have eventually taken over everything, enslaved everyone, and yeah."

"What if the villains had just been killed?" Evie whispered. A horrible silence fell over the car. No one said anything until Mal whispered: "Ben would have married Audrey."

Everyone laughed. "Ben and Audrey? No. They never would have worked." Carlos shook his head. "But you and I and all of us wouldn't exist, so nothing would have happened. Auradon would have stayed the way it was before we came."

Jay tilted his head to the side. "Do you think that would have been better?" He asked. "If we'd never come along and changed everything? No Isle of the Lost, no barrier incidents, no almost blowing up Ben's coronation…?"

"No." Mal shook her head immediately. "Doubtful. The most obvious examples of good I can think of off the top of my head are Jay's tourney achievements, all the good Evie and Jay do with their businesses, and of course how we helped Jane and Lonnie back at Prep, but there's so much more to us. I actually talked about this with Ben. It's not discussed much in the palace, but we're actually a really unstable nation with too many differences, and Ben's prediction is that if something hadn't happened to unite everyone, then people would have started splitting off and Auradon would have fallen. Dunbroch was actually making plans to leave Auradon when Ben was put on the throne, along with Arendelle, Fantasia, and Metroville. Auradon really had to gear up and set aside their differences when we blew up coronation, and then during the Cotillion, and finally when we had to head over to stop Hades and Uma. Without us, the country would literally have collapsed and gone back to being dozens of separate nations who don't mix very well at all. Since we came, we've been working together better than ever, and Ben's predicted we'll continue to make improvements over the next few years until we'll end up being united."

"So, we fixed everything by being Auradon's worst problem to date?" Jay asked with a little smile.

Mal burst into laughter. "Yeah, I guess so." She agreed. Tears suddenly filled her eyes. "Oh gosh, Ben and I totally wouldn't be a thing." She gasped, wiping her eyes hastily. "He'd be married to some stifling Auradon woman and I'd be stuck with my mom and completely miserable." Immediately, all three friends reached forward to comfort her in a chorus of 'oh, Mal's' and 'It's okay's'. Carlos looked a bit embarrassed as he reminded her: "You're on camera."

"I'm always on camera." Mal grumbled bitterly. Her friends laughed, and she cracked a smile. "I'm okay, I'm okay. What's next-"

The video cut off and the room was silent. Maci turned around. "An entire generation is resting on your shoulders. Will your nation crumble and fall, or unite?"

Belle got to her feet. "I think it's clear what needs to happen." She said. "And I, for one, am willing to let my name be smothered in coming years if it means that everyone will eventually find happiness.

"Aye." Aurora declared, getting to her feet. "We have such a wonderful future ahead of us; why waste any time?"

All of the heroes murmured in agreement as they got to their feet. Maleficent and some of the villains shook in rage. "My daughter will not marry an Auradonian prince!" She declared. "And I know everything that happens now, so I can make sure it never happens! I won't even have a daughter, how about that?"

"We'll forget." Belle suggested. "We'll forget, so we can watch it unfold, but not before we make a few changes." She began to list off on her fingers as she thought. "There'll be a magical barrier to keep people on the Isle, and we won't remove anyone's magic permanently. There'll be free marriage laws in Auradon, and we'll line everything up according to what we've been shown, making way for generations of peace and longstanding happiness."

Everyone in the room rose up, figuratively and literally, in agreement. Most of the villains were nodding along to Belle's ideas and considering her words. Maleficent's fists shook in absolute rage. "You can't take my memory!" She howled. "I won't forget! I won't!"

"You will." Maci frowned. "After all, everything has already come to pass." She made a gesture to Doctor Facilier. "I believe you have a way to remove memories, right?"

Doctor Facilier's hand went instinctively to his side. "I do." He confirmed. "And conveniently, enough for everyone. But tell me, why should I use it to help you lock me up?"

"Your daughter goes to Auradon." Maci blinked. "Her name is Freddy. She opens an apothecary and procures a claim to bring you back from the Isle. You live out the rest of your days in happiness with her and her husband, and even live to see your great-grandchildren."

Facilier's face fell away into surprise. He pulled out a long, tall vial of neon blue liquid. "This is gaseous." He proclaimed. "It'll take out our memories of the last day. Make your changes and let's do this."

For the first time in living memory, the two sides were mostly united.

"On her ninetieth birthday," Maci interrupted, looking directly at a red-faced Maleficent, "And in the wake of her husband's passing, Queen Mal briefly brought her mother back. And they spoke for a short time, and Mal told her everything that had happened over the last eighty years. And Maleficent, after spending so many years left to her own thoughts and watching the world go by, listened. The two decided it was best to let go of the past and look only to the future, and Maleficent told Mal that she was proud of her. Maleficent returned to lizard form, and later passed on in peace, and Mal died the very next day, leaving the fate of the kingdom in the hands of her descendants."

"It won't be." Maleficent snarled. "It won't be!" She lunged at Maci, but Jafar and Clayton snagged the edge of her robes and pulled her back.

"We won't remember our decisions unless we finalize them now!" Clayton declared. "So form the Isle and write it all down before we change our minds." Maleficent howled and twisted in his arms as everyone – heroes and villains – jumped to action.

It was raining. The world was absolutely dark. Nothing could be heard over the pattering of the rain on the stone roof of the meeting house with the locked door and the shut windows. Rags and handkerchiefs had been stuffed around the holes to completely stop up the sound, but the cold creeped in still. By light of candles and a roaring hearth, over fifty people hammered out the beginnings of a country as the weather drowned out the warbling protests of the one fairy who would live to see the end of their plans. The one, who, because she would be imprisoned in lizard form, would live to see everyone die, to watch the new generations pass away, and to finally be released in the reign of Tyler James, Ben and Mal's great-grandson.

As the document was written out and everyone gathered around Dr. Facilier, Belle made her way to Maci, who had taken her screen down and was preparing to leave. "Will the memories ever return?" She asked.

Maci shrugged. "Oh, there's a hundred-year block. All you will have passed on by then, except for Maleficent." She pulled her hat back on and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"So, Maleficent will remember?" Belle asked.

Maci smirked. "Yeah. During my lifetime, Mom remembered every bit of this meeting. She recognized me pretty early on. And don't worry – she does come around to good. It just takes a lot of years of lizard imprisonment."

"We're ready!" Facilier announced. "Is Maleficent still secure?" A scream told everyone that she was.

Belle held out a hand to Maci. "Pleasure to know you." She whispered with a smile.

"The pleasure is all mine." Maci returned. The two shook hands, and with a deep breath, Maci disappeared into thin air. Dr. Facilier uncapped his vial. The noxious gas spread throughout the room, with those closest to it succumbing to sleep the quickest. It smelled almost like burning sugar.

People collapsed, one by one. Maleficent stopped screaming as the air became foggy with the stuff. Belle felt her eyelids become heavy as she leaned against the wall. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the tall, strong man she'd seen with his future wife, smiling, happy, and completely free as her mind blanked out and she slumbered on.

It was raining. The world was absolutely dark. Nothing could be heard over the pattering of the rain on the stone roof of the meeting house with the locked door and the shut windows. Rags and handkerchiefs had been stuffed around the holes to completely stop up the sound, but the cold creeped in still. Only one person slipped out before the sun rose and the rains diminished, shedding light on a new world.

**This is just a little odd snippet I've had in my head a while. I figure I'm not the only person who loves to read Time Travel fics, so I thought I'd share it. I do not own Descendants, Ed Sheeran's Hearts Don't Break Around Here, or Taylor Swift's This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things and Taylor Swift's Dress. If you wanted this, you're welcome. **


	10. Talking to No One

**"Would she want me to break her heart now or let her live the lie a little longer?" Ben asked Evie as he wrung his hands. "Benjamin Florian Benson, if you're planning on breaking up with her like that, I will-" Evie started. "No!" Ben interrupted. "It's something much worse." In which Mal comes home and something is missing. Nothing will ever be the same again. Modern AU.**

* * *

"Evie, I need you to ask Mal a very important question for me, but you can't let her know it's coming from me."

"What is it?"

"If she was forced to pick, would she prefer me to break her heart now, or later?"

"Benjamin Florian Benson, if you're thinking of breaking up with her like that, I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shutter you-"

"No, Evie. I know what we have is true love. I'm not planning on ending us. But I need to know. Please?"

"I'll ask, but you owe me an explanation."

"Thank you, Evie."

* * *

Mal walked through the door to their apartment and brought with her the smell of grease and oil. She dropped her keys on the counter and left the door unlocked for when Ben came home. The air felt like the artic had decided to migrate to her kitchen and she could smell the popcorn she'd burned in the microwave the night before. A pile of men's boots and her converse shoes littered the front hall. She fumbled to hang her jacket up over his and tossed her keys onto the counter as she passed through the kitchen.

Home was here. Home was the one purple wall in the living room where she'd run out of paint and spray-painted black graffiti to cover up the leftover white patches. Home was an entire cupboard filled with Top Ramen, Cup-o-Noodle, and Star-Wars shaped mac and cheese because neither she nor Ben knew how to cook. Home was the hole in the floor where Mal had accidentally dropped her toolbox and left a dent, and home was the mirror that they pretended was a picture frame every time they walked past it.

Mal walked in front of the mirror and stuck her tongue out. She crossed her eyes and drew streaks on her cheeks with her black, oily fingers. She tried to imagine Ben beside her, with his neat hair and suit, and the thought made her a little sad. "We ought to take a photo of us facing the mirror and have us framed for real. She called over her shoulder as if Ben were home. "Then we can make faces and pretend we're looking in a mirror instead."

She continued on her path to the bedroom. "Or, we could do both?" She offered. "Maybe get a mirror on one side of the room and a framed picture on the other, so we can make faces in the mirror and watch as two of us never actually get older."

She paused to examine the door frame. It was damaged from when she'd slammed it a few nights ago. "I need to fix this door." She told the empty room. "Do you think you can paint it for me when I'm done? You're better at that then I am."

Mal's eyes abruptly filled with tears, but she couldn't understand why.

She pulled the blinds down in their room so that the walls were dark and took a hot shower without the lights on. She rinsed the grime from work off her fingers and scrubbed the roots of her hair down. It had been a few days since she'd showered, but someone had asked her at work how she was doing, and now she had to make sure she was looking put-together.

She got out, brushed her teeth, and put on some pajamas. "A movie sounds nice." She called. "Want to try and make some popcorn again?"

No answer. The apartment was still empty.

As Mal fumbled in her husband's drawer for a pair of his long, thick socks, she brushed past something silky. She pulled it out. It was a beautiful flowered scarf that was soft, like satin, to the touch. Mal smiled softly and held it up. "This was from our date when you proposed to me." She announced to the room. "You kept it? I thought I left it at your sister's house and someone else took it?"

When no one said anything back, she folded it up and put it back in the drawer. She put her smartwatch on the charging stand and walked back into the kitchen, where she began to rummage through the dozens of decorative baskets that sat along one wall. She pulled a container of warm, semi-fresh strawberries from one that also contained bread, photos of her and Ben, and flowers with a printed sash around them. "Oh look!" She exclaimed with a smile. "Someone brought us strawberries. How nice!" She looked at the card attached to the basket. "Ah, it's Evie. Makes sense. You know, she told me about a funny conversation you two had years ago. Before we even got married!" Mal walked to the kitchen and set the strawberries on the counter. She found a knife she'd used for something, somewhere, sometime, and rinsed it off in the sink. "She said you asked when I would prefer my heart to be broken. Like you were planning on breaking my heart. Silly, huh? You'd never hurt me. You'd never leave me." Mal's voice broke, and her shoulders shook as she tried her best to focus on cutting the stems out of the strawberries. They looked like little hearts. Little hearts that she was slicing into twos. Like that old soulmates story about how humans used to be two people connected, and now they were forever looking for their other half. Ben likes that story. He thinks it describes them.

"Aren't you going to ask me how work was?" Mal asked. "Someone brought a car in that had a bad rotator. It looked just like the one you used to have! You know, that red 1974 Mercedes-Bent? The one you let me paint our names in purple on the dash even though it looked really bad? Theirs was new, though." She slid the strawberries onto two plates and heated up two individual-sized mac and cheeses. She took them to the dining room table, which was pushed up against a corner so only two sides were accessible. One side was hers, one side was Ben's. Ben's was the left side because he was her left-hand man. The right side of the table was empty but strewn with crumbs and bits of dried sauces. Ben's side of the table had a collection of old, microwavable mac and cheese, cheese-its, Ramen in various bowls, and other five-minute foods. Mal put the strawberries down next to a brown, sweet-smelling apple and budged a bowl of sour milk and soggy cereal out of the way to put the new mac and cheese in front of Ben's chair for when he came home.

"I miss your old car," Mal told the food as she sat down and began to eat. "Remember that day we played my favorite song for like, an hour while going up the canyon? I think we were with Jay and Carlos, going mountain-biking? The leaves were yellow and red. You almost ran that red light because you were looking over at me. I mean, sure, I was pretending to open the door, but I think it sounds a bit more romantic if we don't mention that other part. " Mal took a bite of a strawberry and almost choked as she swallowed it wrong. She got up and walked to the fridge to get some water. "Your jelly doughnut is still in here." She called. "It's not going to be fresh anymore. Want me to get you a new one?"

Quiet.

Mal took the plate of strawberries to the window and opened it wide. The screen was gone. Mal had knocked it out a few nights ago. She sat on a stool there, rested her elbow on the sill and tilted her head as she snacked. "Do you think your mom still has that photo album of all those pictures from when you were a kid?" She asked. "I want to get a few copies of my favorites. I've been meaning to do it for years. Now's as good a time as any." Mal smiled softly as she imagined the photos his mom had first shown her back when they'd started dating. His dad had said that, based on seeing her face as she looked at them, he'd known she'd marry him one day. There had been photos of a little boy with a frown as he tried on his first pair of glasses for the camera, and Ben at fourteen with a bat slung over his shoulder, off to play tee-ball. Mal hadn't even known he'd had bad eyesight as a kid until seeing those photos. She still remembered his red cheeks as he'd explained how he'd gotten eye-correction surgery, back when she'd thought bad eyesight was all there was behind it. Mal had nudged him playfully. "What a wonderful past." She'd laughed. "Mind if I stick around for the future?" Ben had laughed and kissed her head. "Not at all." He'd assured her.

Speaking of sticking around for the future, Ben still wasn't home.

Mal pulled her phone out of her pocket and went to the top of her favorites list. Evie, Jay, Carlos, Belle, and Adam had been calling more often, but Ben was still at the top of her favorites list. She dialed his number and held the phone to her ear as it rang. Alas, he did not answer. She rolled her eyes with a smile as his message box started rolling.

"Hey, you've reached Ben! I'm sorry I missed your call. Feel free to leave a message or shoot me a text. If you're my wife calling me _again_, I love you and I'll be home soon. Thanks for calling, goodbye!' Mal smiled at his voice. _I love you and I'll be home soon._ She held the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she ate the strawberries off her plate with her fingers. "Hi, Ben. It's me again. Just wondering when you're going to be home. I was thinking we should go see a movie tonight or stay home and finish that wine we left in the fridge. Everyone's brought over lots of stuff for us too…" She trailed off as she nudged a basket with more flowers and a Christian cross in the center away from her. "If you hurry, I swear I'll sit through Big Hero Six for the _millionth_ time so that you can see it again. But mark my words, if you're longer than thirty minutes I'm going to start 'Up' without you. And no, I won't lock the doors to win this time either. Just… hurry home, okay? I love you." She hung up and stared fondly at the screensaver of her and Ben with a snapchat filter that gave them both crowns. After ten minutes of trying, they'd finally gotten the king's crown on him and the queen's crown on her. Their expressions of surprise and excitement were forever frozen onscreen.

A rock flew through the window and landed on the floor. Mal looked outside with a sharp expression as three boys from the apartment across the street yelled and pointed at her. "Witch Girl!" They shouted. "Witch Girl!"

"Bicker and holler, squabble and squawk." Mal hissed. "Twist their words when next they talk!" She slammed the window closed as another smaller rock bounced off the glass. After the first two broken windows, she and Ben had invested in bulletproof glass. Problem solved.

"That's right!" One of the boys screamed at the top of his voice. "Go talk to your husband, you witch girl!"

In her head, she could hear Ben trying to soothe her, even as he frowned. "Don't worry about it." He told her. "I like your hair just the way it is. You don't need to stop the purple just because of some pre-pubescent bullies."

Mal walked away from the window with her hands over her ears. Her hair was still wet. Oftentimes, when it was late, and they'd just gotten out of the shower together, they'd come into the kitchen for a midnight snack and start dancing in the light of the refrigerator. Mal had hit her hip more times than she could count on the counter that stuck out a bit too far, and she'd stepped on his toes until they were bruised and blue.

She pulled the blinds on all the windows in the house to block out the late afternoon winter sunlight and went over to the living room. Blankets and pillows from their bed were piled on top of the cushions. Had they slept here last night? No? Must have just been her, then.

A case of DVD movies sat beside a case of CD music. In the CD case, a mix-tape from a TV Show called Descendants had a white label on the side: Mal's favorites. 'Ben's favorites' was down a few shelves, on an album by Lee Brice. He liked the song 'I Drive Your Truck'. Mal couldn't stand the song. Just the idea of someone dying and leaving behind their possessions exactly the way they were before when everything was different hurt her. The idea caused her pain.

In the movie's case, 'Up' was labeled 'Mal's Favorite' in sparkly purple permanent marker. Meanwhile, Big Hero Six had been scribbled on as 'Ben's favorite'. Ben saw himself in Tadashi. Someone who genuinely wanted the best for the world, someone who believed in the best for everyone. He loved how Hiro had learned to go on after Tadashi's death, and he would always poke Mal at the ending and ask: "Would you do that if I died?" Mal fingered her favorite movie with a frown. If she watched this, she'd have to go through the beginning montage with Carl and Ellie's life, and he'd have to watch Ellie be told she couldn't have children and die and…

Not tonight.

The door to the apartment opened and Mal flipped around so quickly she caught her arm on the wood casing of the DVD Case and sliced her arm open. In the hall stood a tall person wearing blue, who was looking around the apartment and meeting Mal's eyes with a soft smile.

Evie, not Ben.

"Hi, Mal. How are you doing?" Evie asked. Mal examined her friend. Evie had gotten her hair re-dyed mermaid style in shades of blue with small hints of purple and green.

"Fine." Mal shrugged.

Evie wrinkled her nose at the apartment. "It looks awful in here." She told Mal. Mal didn't say anything as her friend walked to the kitchen. "Mal, what's all this food sitting out?" Evie gagged. Mal heard the sink start to run. "You haven't put any of these baskets away?" Evie called.

"Evie, what am I supposed to do with three million bouquets?" Mal groaned. "I don't have any vases. We should just give them all to Belle."

"Why are all the sheets off your bed?" Evie asked.

"I don't know…" Mal grumbled.

"Well, come help me find a place for all these things," Evie commanded, appearing in the living room with a towel slung over her hand. Mal whined, but Evie came over and took her by the hand and lead her into the kitchen, to the wall with the three-million bouquets. She let Mal drop to her knees beside a large one from Ben's childhood friend Audrey and slipped into the kitchen to clear all the old dishes and food off of the counter. Mal began to aimlessly shuffle through the baskets. She pulled out a collection of photos from one. She was in a couple of them. It looked like old shots from back when she and Ben were in college. She was studying mechanical engineering, and he was looking into becoming a conservatorship specialist, working in Child Protective Services. In one of them, they were dressed in their matching plaid shirts and each toasting a glass of beer to the camera Evie, Jay, Carlos, Doug, and Lonnie were also there. Carlos was mid-shot dumping his glass onto Doug's head as Ben and Mal smiled into the camera, unaware of the chaos that was about to break out.

"What'd you find?" Evie asked as she walked over and pressed a cold washcloth to Mal's bleeding arm.

"Nothing," Mal said blankly. "Just old photos of us."

Evie saw the photo and smiled. "One of your plaid shirt days." She said.

Mal nodded. "I remember this day. He took me home that night."

Evie winced. "Too much information." She kissed Mal's head. "Your door was unlocked, by the way. I had my key, but you must have left it open."

Mal nodded. "It's been open all week." She sighed.

Evie frowned. "You don't exactly live in the best neighborhood. You should lock your door." Mal didn't say anything. She just thumbed over the photo in her hands. Evie's frown deepened. "You can't just put yourself in danger because you keep expecting him to come home." She told Mal. "Carlos said he saw you walking home alone the other night."

"Carlos is a snitch." Mal rehearsed in a bored tone.

Evie let out a breath slowly and closed her eyes. "Do you need help cleaning out his things? Or moving out of here? Would that help?"

"No." Mal snapped. "No, I don't want to get rid of anything. I don't…" She choked. "-I don't want to forget!" The entire place reminded her of innocence and happier times before she knew anything was wrong and before she learned what Ben had been hiding from her for the last thirteen years since they'd met. Every important thing that had happened to her had come to a head in this place. This was where she and Ben had chosen to make their home. This was where they'd argued over movies and fought over shower temperature and fell into bed over, and over, and over. This was what they had built, and sure, it was emptier without him, but it was better that way.

Evie sighed. The dishwasher rattled behind her. She shook her head and headed to the bedroom. "Just… sort out all the food and I'll help you put it away. Next week we'll go grocery shopping. I'm going to make your bed and start your laundry for you." Evie's heels followed her out the room and down the hall. Mal clutched the photos to her chest as her body wracked with sobs.

With blurry eyes, Mal skimmed the messages wrapped around the different bouquets. 'We're sorry for your loss.' One read. Another said: 'Sending healing prayers and comforting hugs.' The two that ripped at Mal's heart were: 'Sorry about your husband' and 'Cancer Hero'. She squeezed her eyes shut and refused to look at them anymore.

Any moment now, the door would open, and Prince Charming would reappear. Any moment now, someone in an official suit would appear and tell her it was a joke. If only time would rewind. If only she could skip backward, go back to before the moment they put him in the ground, carried him out of the church, closed the casket, pronounced him dead. Back to the moment they were walking up the steps together and she knew he was tired, but she didn't know what was happening when he fell to the ground and begged her to call an ambulance. Before they were in the hospital and Belle was putting her arms around her and explaining how Ben had an irremovable low-grade tumor in his head that had been growing there since he was ten and that he'd never let anyone know because he didn't want to know what it was like to have people doting on him and sending him sympathetic looks and whispering to everyone around him: 'He's a cancer patient'. She wanted to go back to times when Ben's headaches were simply periodic migraines, and his double vision was just inherited, and when all of the money that he was putting aside really was for a fancy trip they'd go on one day instead of for her when he finally kicked the bucket, bit the coal, and died.

She remembered all the small things she'd missed now that it was too late. Ben squeezing her hand on their wedding day and asking: "Do you think we'll still be together in forty years?" and after listening to a song called 'True Love' when he leaned over and asked: "What do you think you would do without me?"

God, she hated it. She hated everything. She hated the moment he'd first smiled at her, the moment they'd first kissed, and all those happy memories because now he was dead and gone, and it hurt. She remembered everything, and every smile, word, and touch ripped her heart in two. Because she and Ben had ended in the middle of the sentence, as a phrase that would never be finished. It was like he'd died in the middle of their happily ever after, and now her fairy tale was a Shakespearean tragedy. And worst of all, there was nothing she could do.

* * *

"She said later because then she could ignore that the inevitable was happening."

"Thanks, E."

"Aren't you going to tell me what's going on?"

"No. I'll let you know one day, though."

* * *

**I Am So Sorry! I didn't expect it to be this sad. I actually started crying myself. **

**I do not own Descendants, or that line I quoted from the Crucible, or any of the movies and songs mentioned here, or Taylor Swift's All Too Well and Miranda Lambert's Over you, from which this story was inspired.**

**Owie, owie, ow, ow, ow. **


	11. The Two O'Clock Meeting pt 1

**This is a short two-part story I've been dwelling on. I have plans for a third part that would be disconnected from the first two, so if you're interested, let me know. **

**I do not own Descendants.**

* * *

**In which Ben is given an opportunity to meet with the future king at the end of his reign, and Mal and her friends are given the opportunity to meet the future queen in the middle of her reign. Time Travel/Interdimensional travel fic.**

* * *

Read Her Royal Highness for a longer fanfic. It features Mal breaking the barrier over the Isle, Her being in Auradon all alone, and four separate kingdoms.

It had been a long day. He'd woken up early and gone in to take the test he'd missed yesterday, so he could attend his father's meeting. Then, he'd taken the test he would be missing in the afternoon, for Swords and Shields. It'd been harder than he'd anticipated – he'd probably have to take it again – and have missed breakfast. He'd fallen asleep in Chemistry, brought the wrong book to Math, and had almost fainted during weights because he hadn't had anything to eat or drink all day long. English hadn't been so bad, except that Lonnie hadn't completely finished her part of their group project and Chad's part was done in handwriting that looked suspiciously like Ruby's. And then Annie, Anna's daughter, who had somehow wound up with Elsa's magic despite not being descended from Elsa, had sneezed beside him and froze his hand to the table. The Swords and Shields meet had turned out terrible, both of his parents were gone with court stuff, Audrey had to cancel her plans to come to hang out with him for something her parents needed her for, and so he'd eaten dinner at nine, all alone, and was now heading to bed, finally.

Ben put his shoes on the grate beside the door and hung up his jacket. He put all his clothes in the laundry chute, knowing they'd be back the next day, and found his pajamas by his bed with a sigh. He plugged his phone in in the other room – he wasn't allowed to have it at night – and the screen sensed the time, sensed the power source, and locked him out. It would unlock at five thirty the next morning when he'd have to get up to go to the school for an early morning tourney practice. Hopefully, he'd have time to finish homework during his first period.

Ben flipped off the lights and collapsed onto his bed face-down. The pillows let out a whoosh of air as his face sank deeper into them. He could already feel his eyes closing as the sweet embrace of sleep came up to capture him.

He turned onto his side, blinked twice, and noticed a light coming out from under the doorway. Ben groaned pitifully, swung his feet back over the side of the bed, and walked to the door. He twisted the knob. It whirred a little as he opened it – just like his dad's office door, and he opened it into the other room.

Light blinded him, and all of the sleepiness vanished from his mind. He stared in shock at the other side of the door. It had changed in the few seconds it's taken him to walk back to the door. The ceilings were higher, with wood paneling and brick overlays. A large dark brown desk sat in front of a window that was looking out on the palace grounds, and there were large boxes sitting around the room, filled to the brim with items. It looked… exactly like his dad's office, only unpacked and a little updated.

Ben turned back around and examined his room, sheathed in darkness. To his surprise, his frame was still visible, lying on top of the sheets with his head tilted to the side at an angle he knew he'd regret when he got up the next day. He turned back to the light, shut the door, and watched in shock as it vanished. The real door was to his right, up against the wall and on the north side. He moved to put his hands into his pockets by force of habit and discovered he was wearing tan pants with a watch on his wrist. A blue shirt was tucked into a belt with a simple Auradon crest buckle completing the look. His hair was combed. He looked like he was accompanying his parents somewhere.

The boxes around the room were labeled with a sturdy, yet curly scrawl. Probably a woman's handwriting. One read: "Tax Records Year 20-48. Take to Records." Ben examined the box tactfully. Auradon measured years based on when the country had been formed. It was the year 18. He'd be taking the throne in two years, when he was sixteen, during year twenty. Twenty, as in the number inscribed on the box. Ben swallowed.

"Are you my two o'clock meeting?" A voice came from the doorway. Ben jumped and spun around. He hadn't heard if the door had opened or not, but he could suddenly see out into the hallway. In the doorway stood a tall, handsome man who looked like he was in his forties, though he had evidently aged well. He still had his hair, though laugh wrinkles had pressed themselves around his mouth and eyes. He held a perfect posture, an upright stance, and a kind smile stretched across a familiar face.

"Two o'clock?" Ben stuttered, watching in awe as the man stepped further into the room, examining him with kind eyes.

"Ah, yes. That'd be you." The man nodded, shutting the door and then walking past him. "Sorry for the mess; we're almost all cleaned out. You know, you're my very last official meeting as King?" He smiled at Ben, and then pulled a chair from the side of the room and placed it in front of the desk. He walked around the desk, sat down in his own chair, a black leather chair on wheels, and gestured to the seat. "Do you know who I am?" The man asked.

Ben took the back of the chair in his hands and sat down with a swallow. "You-you're me, aren't you?" He asked.

The older man's smile grew brighter. "I am." He nodded, folding his hands together on top of his desk. "It doesn't quite seem like it, huh? And you're here to appraise me, correct?"

"I – I'm here to – what?" Ben stammered. He was too busy examining his older version's face. How he had even eyebrows and clear skin and thick hair. Wow, he'd never have thought he'd one day look so good. He touched the acne on his forehead and wrinkled his nose in jealousy. His older version laughed.

"Yes, I know. It'll go away soon though. I swear it's not just something mum says to make you feel better." He laughed, leaning forward. "But come on, now, Ben. Think for just a second. What's another word for Appraisal?"

"An interview," Ben replied immediately. It was one of the things his dad had drilled into his head. "It's an interview where everyone tries to find out if you've done anything wrong." He mirrored his counterpart, folding his hands together in his lap and twiddling his fingers nonchalantly.

"That's right." King Ben nodded. His smile remained bright and proud. "Now, Ben," He began, "Can you guess how old I am now?"

Ben swallowed and glanced back to the box he'd been looking at earlier. "Well, you – I – was born in year four, so… aren't you forty-four or forty-three?"

"Forty-four." King Ben nodded in assurance. "I'm thirty years older than you right now."

A chill ran down Ben's spine as he looked around at everything and took a long, slow breath. "Wow." He whispered. "That's a long time."

"It flies by." King Ben agreed. "It still does for me. I go to bed every night and I wonder where the hours went. They're flying faster now that I'm leaving office."

"You said I'm your last meeting?" Ben asked, attention snapping back to his counterpart. "Then… you must be passing the throne on?"

"On Monday." King Ben affirmed. "This is my last meeting, and then my family will help me take everything out, and tomorrow is Sunday, so nothing will happen and we'll spend the day together. Then on Monday, a new ruler will take the throne."

"But if you're passing the throne on, then that means-" Ben's mouth ran a bit dry. "Do you – do I – have children?"

"I have children; you will have children." King Ben confirmed with a brighter, proud smile. "That's how a monarchy works, Ben."

"Of course." Ben stuttered with eyes large as he dug his fingernails into the edge of the chair. "And they'll be sixteen, so they were born-"

"I was twenty-eight." King Ben cut him off. "My wife and I… she wanted to put it off. We were married for almost seven years before our first baby was born."

"Seven years." Ben echoed, sliding down into his chair a little.

"I was twenty-one when I married her." King Ben smiled. "Do you want to know her name?"

"Can I?" Ben asked. "I mean, am I allowed to? What if I wake up and then I know-"

"Then you wake up and you know who she is." King Ben shrugged. "And you keep your mouth shut and you hang back to give her some time and space and you tell her when you're about, oh," He glanced to the side coyly as if he were pretending to brainstorm a date. "When you're marrying her in three days and she asks how you're sure she's the right person."

Ben's mouth fell open. "You already did this?" He asked.

King Ben nodded. "It's been a very long time since I sat in that chair." He hummed. "Kind of strange to see you here; not going to lie." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Go on, then, see if you can guess who she is."

"Audrey," Ben asked immediately. His hands were tightening into fists as his heart rate increased.

King Ben shook his head and closed his eyes as if he were reminiscing about something. "Audrey and you break up when you go after the girl you'll make your queen. She gets married to Chad, and that unites all three of those kingdoms, and they had a son together who became the King of their states a few years ago."

Ben's mouth dropped open. "What about Lonnie?" He asked. "Lonnie and I have gone out. Is it Lonnie?"

King Ben straightened up very carefully and pursed his lips a little. "It's not Lonnie." He shook his head. "Lonnie married someone from… a different land. His name was Jay. They moved up to Northern Wei and had twin girls together. They don't take a throne up there until they reach twenty, though, and they're only twelve."

Ben swallowed. "Is it Jane?" He asked. He could see himself going for Jane. Jane was quiet and kind, if a little vain and reserved. However, he was shocked to see a deep frown cross his counterpart's face.

"Jane marries a boy named Carlos." He told Ben. "Who also comes from a different land. The same one as Jay, actually. And we're friends, but she said something that hurt my wife very badly in her youth, and so I've never even held a one-on-one conversation with her since we left Auradon Prep." He leaned forward and looked at young Ben. "Do you want me to tell you now?" He asked.

Ben pulled his chair closer to the desk and nodded eagerly. "Yes." He whispered.

A ghostly smile crossed King Ben's face. He threaded his fingers together. "Her name is Mal," He confided, whispering the name like it was a secret or a treasure.

Ben wrinkled his nose. "Mal." He repeated, testing the name on his tongue. It seemed to stick. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what she might be like, but nothing came to mind. "I don't know her." He told King Ben, who shook his head.

"She comes from that different land I was telling you about." King Ben hummed.

"Where?" Ben asked, putting his hands on the desk in anticipation.

King Ben stood up and went to look to the south, out the window behind his desk. Ben stood up and looked over the desk. In the distance, he could see a hazy green barrier flicking into and out of his gaze. His mouth went dry. "The Isle of the Lost?" He asked.

King Ben turned back around. "Tell me, Ben, what do you think 'Mal' is short for?" He sat down on a corner of his desk and hooked his hands around his knees as he waited for an answer.

Ben's mind raced with fifty thoughts. Mal, as a prefix, meant Bad. Evil. Rotten. He skimmed his list of memorized villains and suddenly stopped on the large, overbearing, obvious one. "Maleficent?" He asked.

"Is that a problem?" King Ben asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No," Ben decided, though he sat down in surprise. "Not if she's the one. It doesn't matter who her mom is. And, well, the kingdom is obviously fine, so…" He shrugged.

"She's the one." King Ben affirmed. "It's true love." He sat back down in his chair and smiled. "We've been married almost twenty-five years, and every day is better than the last."

"And now you won't be King anymore?" Ben asked, sitting down as well. "It'll be your… son?"

"I won't be." King Ben agreed. "And our daughter, actually. Her name is Colette." He got up and walked to a box that read: "Knick-knacks". From this, he withdrew a framed photograph and held it out to Ben. Ben took it with shaking hands. It was a photo of a girl looking over her shoulder a little bit. Long, long purple hair was swept over her shoulder as she smiled at the camera with perfect, white, straight teeth. Her eyes were brown, just like his. He felt all the breath leave his lungs.

"Colette." He repeated, tracing a finger down the side of her face. "She's… beautiful."

"Just wait until I show you a picture of Mal." King Ben chuckled, shuffling a little in his box. He pulled out a second photo and handed it to Ben. "Those are all the kids," He told him, before hefting a larger picture out of the box and setting it beside the desk. Ben examined the second photo. Four children in various degrees of attentiveness were captured behind the glass. The oldest, Colette, was leaning into a couch with her sister, who also had dark, lush, purple hair, leaning into her side. Two boys were wrestling a pillow between them while they faked that they were looking at the photographer. One had the same purple hair and was older, and the other was the only child with tan, sandy hair. Ben examined them all. They looked like they all had his skin color, except for one of the girls. And two of them had brown eyes, and two had green. That meant he was heterozygous dominant for brown, he realized with a smirk. All those boring science classes must have pounded something into him after all.

"Why did we let them all dye their hair?" He asked King Ben, who had gone back to sitting on a corner of his desk as he watched young Ben evaluate his future family.

"We didn't." King Ben responded with a laugh. "It grows in like that. They all have naturally purple hair. My wife was devastated."

"But they look so good!" Ben frowned. "They're the most beautiful kids in all of Auradon!"

"You should see Evie's." King Ben smiled. "They're pretty cute too. I prefer my own, of course, but anyone with Evie's genes is bound to be gorgeous." He rubbed his hands together and stood up to wander the room. "Mal was upset because it makes them easy to spot. Also, she says she likes my hair, but whatever. I honestly think that as the generations go by, the purple hair will just come to be a mark of royalty. Our youngest son Damien is the only person to escape the purple hair gene, and now he's devastated because he doesn't match."

Ben snorted and put a finger on the blonde-haired boy in the photo. "Damien." He repeated.

"And Jordan is our older son." King Ben filled him in. "He's just a little younger than you are now. And the last girl is Annalee. She's a real cuddler. You don't appreciate that now, but when you get off after a meeting and she wants to cuddle beside you, you'll understand." He folded his arms in pride as he watched Ben take it all in.

"Mal's hair must be purple then, and she must have green eyes," Ben mumbled. His cheeks grew a little warm. Could it be possible he'd made these people with someone?

"On the money." King Ben replied.

Ben rubbed the glass to get some imaginary dust off of it. "How old are they all now? Except for Colette. I already know she's sixteen."

"Jordan is thirteen." King Ben began. "And then the twins are only six. That means I still have a few years." He brushed his hair out of his face. "Mal and I sort of want to try for a fifth kid now that we're losing Colette, but we don't know. She might be too old now."

Ben glanced down to the frame that King Ben had set beside his feet and gasped in shock. A beautiful hand-painted portrait of what he assumed was a goddess with dark, curly, perfectly purple hair was leaned against the desk. He put the photo down and picked it up. The woman in the painting was, without a doubt, gorgeous. Her lashes were long, her lips held an even pink color, and her eyes were the same bright, vibrant green he'd seen on his future children. "Mal," He whispered, the name rolling off his tongue and sticking immediately to the person whose portrait he held in his hands.

"Isn't she lovely?" King Ben asked in pride. "I had that commissioned for our tenth anniversary. She'd had Colette three years before and was actually pregnant with Jordan then." He leaned down a little to see the portrait. "It's a shame I couldn't have her paint it herself, but it still turned out beautiful despite that."

"She paints?" Ben asked. He could scarcely rip his eyes away from the lady on the canvas to look up at his counterpart. King Ben nodded with a smile and pulled a booklet out of the box he'd been foraging through. He took the painting out of Ben's hands and replaced it with the booklet, though Ben was sad to see it go. He cracked the booklet open and discovered a watercolor drawing of a baby sitting in the sunlight, surrounded by toys. Beside it was a detailed pencil sketch of a little girl with braided hair. The inscription 'Colette' was underneath it.

Ben flipped through the booklet slowly, examining everything inside of it. He noticed that while the children's full names were almost always used, Colette tended to be shortened to 'Co-co'. "Can I see more?" He asked, closing the book carefully and then leaned back over the portrait of the girl who'd done them, Mal.

King Ben laughed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was the same type Ben used, but obviously years ahead of him. King Ben found what he wanted on the screen and carefully pressed the screen into his palm. Ben stared at the screen. On it was himself, older, with his arm around the girl, Mal, and they were taking their photo in front of a crowd at a gala or some other function. The queen's crown was on her head and the King's crown on his, though his was at an angle. He swiped left and found a picture of Jordan, the oldest boy, with whipped cream on his cheek as he smiled at the camera. Another swipe left revealed a picture of Mal, though her figure was misshapen around her middle and she was rolling her eyes exasperatedly at the camera while keeping a little hand to her torso. Ben's mouth went dry. He studied the image, every pixel, until King Ben elbowed him with another laugh. "You did that." He reminded Ben. The fourteen-year-old turned beet red and hunched his shoulders before he quickly moved on, prompting more laughs from his older counterpart.

"I still have a question." Ben sighed, handing King Ben's phone back to him after a while. "Well, a couple, really. But the big one is… how did I meet Mal?"

"You mean how did you navigate around the barrier?" King Ben laughed, taking a seat back in his chair. Ben picked up the portrait again and then set the photo of the kids in front of it so he could look back and forth between the two and nodded to King Ben's words. "It wasn't easy." The forty-four-year-old sighed. "Your parents weren't the happiest at the beginning of that adventure, though they did get used to it."

"Oh, Mom and Dad!" Ben blurted out, interrupting his older self. "Are they still alive? What happens to them?"

"They're still alive." King Ben laughed. "And well, too. They' be around for many more years. But, as I was saying, they're not going to be one-hundred percent on-board with your plan. You're going to have to hold your ground a little. Eventually, they'll come back around and say you were right."

"But how?" Ben asked. "What am I supposed to hold my ground on?"

King Ben stared at him with a blank expression. Ben felt the gears in his head begin to turn. "You said that Jay and Carlos came from a different land. And you also mentioned Evie. She must be the daughter of the Evil Queen. They must all come from the Isle of the Lost. You – I – let children from the Isle of the Lost come over."

"You pick the first ones, and then your 'core four' pick everyone else." King Ben affirmed. "And you meet Mal when she comes over. You'll know her face the moment she appears. You get to step forward and shake her hand. She won't be too hot on you at first but give it time. She likes sarcastic jokes and strawberries. Within a month of meeting, you'll be dating."

"What's she like?" Ben asked, tracing the tip of his finger over Mal's purple locks in the portrait on his lap.

"Amazing." King Ben exhaled. "She'll become the most important person in your life. She's strong, she's kind. She likes tight hugs and soft kisses, and she goes crazy when you wear purple. She's talented and artistic, and funny, and hard-working. She's going to be devoted to you as a girlfriend, as a fiancée, and as a wife. And while you'll both have your doubts; we turn out to be pretty awesome parents together too."

"She sounds incredible." Ben exhaled, sounding exactly like his older self. "God, where can I sign up?" He let his eyes flit off the portrait for a few seconds as a deep red color tinged his cheeks. "What's it like to kiss her?" He asked softly. His voice chose that moment to crack, and he winced, hoping that the future Ben wouldn't laugh.

King Ben's eyes sparkled. "Why are you so embarrassed?" He laughed. "You've thought about kissing girls before – I know you have."

Ben shrugged as his blush deepened. "I just didn't know if it was something you wanted me to ask." He mumbled.

King Ben nodded, leaning further back into his cheek. "It's like the heavens opened wide." He shook his head. "I swear, every kiss, I could die." Then, King Ben glanced at the younger version of himself with a smile. "But you do realize I have four children, right? I've done far more than _just _kiss Mal."

Ben's face turned a deeper shade of red. He set the pictures aside as King Ben laughed at his burning cheeks. "When you do start kissing her, just know she'll care a little bit more about length then about quality. About the time you have Colette is when she'll start to care about how well you can kiss her, not just how long."

"Got it." Ben nodded.

"And I know you won't value this tip now but hear me out." King Ben laughed and winked a little at him. "When you want her to go crazy on you, wear something purple. Just the sight of her color on you is usually enough to set her off."

Ben made a disgruntled, uncomfortable sound and covered his face with his hands as red seared his cheeks again. King Ben couldn't hold back his loud laughter as Ben tried to compose himself. He pulled one knee up onto his leg and examined the young man. "You'll be a fine king." He told him. "You'll do just swell. And with Mal by your side, really, there's no way for you to mess up. You'll be a fine king, a wonderful father, and, according to Mal, a fantastic husband."

"Do I pass science?" Ben blurted out and then realized that was probably a stupid question to ask a man who hadn't attended his school or taken his classes in thirty years.

King Ben pulled a card out of his pocket. "I knew you were going to ask, so I went and looked it up." He told Ben and cleared his throat. "You squeak past with a B-. Just make sure and retake that genetics and Mendelian test, and you'll be fine. It should be a lot easier now that you have some real-life applications." He spread his arms across the pictures on his desk. Ben nodded in agreement. There wasn't a doubt in his head that this was for real.

"I can't believe these are _my_ kids." Ben gasped a little. "I mean, I can see my eyes and my hair on Damien, and Colette has my skin – This is incredible! I wish this was my life right now."

"It will be, one day." King Ben smiled. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"So many." Ben gasped. "But… I guess most of them will be answered soon enough." He hesitated. "Did Dad ever figure out what to do to help Arendelle and Weselton sort things out?"

"I have no clue." King Ben shook his head. "Probably not since they still fight today."

Ben wrinkled his nose. That meant he'd have to deal with it. "Do I get to meet Maleficent?" He asked. King Ben shook his head with a quiet smile, and Ben sighed. "Do you have any advice on how to be a good husband?" He asked.

King Ben's eyebrows shot up. "That's a very mature question." He hummed and shrugged. "I forgot to mention this, but Mal is magical. And every once in a while she likes to experiment with her powers. Don't get down on her. Let her have that little freedom and everything will be fine."

"Okay." Ben nodded with a dry mouth. "What do you think I should be the most excited for?"

King Ben straightened up and fixed the cuffs on his sleeves. "That's another mature question." He hummed. "I don't know. I haven't finished living yet. I can give you a small list." At his words, Ben straightened up and took a deep breath. King Ben began to count on his fingers. "You meet and marry an amazing girl who you remain madly in love with years later, You change the lives of hundreds of kids by introducing them to the ways of good, you're renowned for being a doting father while also keeping up on every single one of your responsibilities, and you end up making some pretty amazing kids with your fabulously sexy wife, so I'd say you've got loads to look forward to." King Ben put his fingertips together and smiled at Ben. "Especially on that last point." He told him.

"I can't wait," Ben replied honestly, staring down at the pictures across the desk.

The door across the room opened and Ben whipped around to see who'd walked in. A little girl with a full head of purple hair snuck around the corner and then dashed towards the desk. King Ben held out his hands and scooped her up as she reached him. He tickled her sides and made funny growling sounds like he was pretending to eat her while she shrieked and pulled on his shirt a little. She had pale skin, very different from Ben's, but dark brown eyes.

"Daddy it's you!" Annalee pointed across the desk at Ben.

King Ben set her up on his knee and nodded. "It is." He affirmed. "Annalee, can you say hi to Ben?" Annalee waved shyly at him from her Dad's arms and then curled her face into his chest, balling her little fists up in his shirt. A cuddler, just like King Ben had said. He examined everything about her, from how short she was, to how her nails were painted a peeling pink, to her he could even see a bit of his mom's face in hers. And she'd called King Ben 'Daddy'. That joyful sound rang in his ears over and over. That'd be him one day. It'd be him.

King Ben looked up towards the door and his smile, which had remained permanently etched onto his face since Ben had first seen him enter the office grew wider and softer all at the same time. His eyes sparkled as he focused on a point just over Ben's shoulder and he leaned up a little to greet the person behind them all. Ben's heart thudded in his chest as he turned around slowly.

There was a swish of purple hair and the smell of acrylic paint. A lady with the same dark purple hair that, true to King Ben's words, was like a royal trademark, stepped into the room. She was wearing black paint-splattered jeans and a purple and green shirt, and a purple and green jacket with metallic studs was slung over her shoulder. She set a hand on Ben's shoulder as she walked by and leaned down to kiss his cheek. Her touch was soft, and her skin was like silk. Ben felt every hair rise up on end as he watched her pass with wide eyes. Queen Mal crossed behind the desk and leaned down to share a kiss – a proper one – with her husband. Ben felt a little like he was watching his parents kiss as he watched Mal withdraw with a smile and a glance down to their little girl, even though it was only himself many years older.

"Watch out, she'll go to sleep." Queen Mal warned King Ben with a laugh. "She just trashed my art studio, so I brought her down here to put her energy to use moving you out of Colette's office." She set her hand on her husband's shoulder. Her nails were short and unpainted if you didn't count the dozens of colors stretching up her skin.

"You being naughty?" King Ben asked Annalee, picking a bit of brown paint off of her cheek. Annalee shook her head and burrowed deeper into his shirt. Ben's heart was thumping in his chest. King Ben glanced over at his younger counterpart with a smile like he knew exactly how he was feeling. The king looked up at his wife and gestured to the young child snuggling deeper into his arms. "We made her." He reminded her. "I think we did a pretty good job."

"I think so too." Queen Mal hummed and smiled. She leaned into King Ben's side, balancing on the chair, and looked across the desk to Ben. Ben straightened up a little, pulling on his sleeves so they weren't bunching up around his armpits and hoping she didn't notice the acne spread across his forehead like trash on a beach. "How'd I get so lucky?" She mumbled, and Ben was taken aback because really, he wasn't that nice to look at yet. If his skin was real estate for zits then his chin and hairline were beach-front property, and he was lanky with big feet and he was pretty sure the cut he'd gotten in tourney over his eyebrow hadn't completely healed yet, but there wasn't much he could do.

There was a sound like a hiss behind them and they all turned to watch a door – the same door Ben had first entered through – appear in the wall. King Ben carefully pulled Annalee up onto his shoulder and stood up, and it was around this time Ben realized that Queen Mal was extremely short. "It's time for you to go." King Ben told his young protégé. "You'll be waking up soon."

"I still have so much I want to hear about." Ben mourned. "Like about Colette and Jordan and Damien? I want to hear all about them."

"You will," Mal assured him. "And believe me, your story is like nothing you've imagined so far. You're going to be blown away."

Ben stood up and King Ben wandered around his desk. "Do you want her before you go?" He asked, gesturing to Annalee. "She's light."

Ben immediately stretched forth his hands and King Ben set the small girl against his chest. She curled her fists into his shirt and leaned her head into his collar, and Ben felt his heart rate speed up. This girl didn't even exist yet to him, and already she meant the entire world. He hugged her to him, afraid to squeeze her too tightly, and then a light came from under the door he was supposed to enter. "Time to go." King Ben announced and help his arms out for his daughter. Ben returned her to him grudgingly and glanced at the door.

"Come, now." Queen Mal put a hand on his shoulder and led him towards the door. "And Ben, one thing from me before you go back if you don't mind." She smiled, and Ben straightened up a little and met her eyes. "When you first see me, I don't exactly… look like me. I'm dark and I'm angsty and I've never known love my entire life. So don't be scared to talk to me. I started to fall for you because you kept coming back around and showing you cared."

"I will – or, I won't be scared, that is," Ben assured her, and then fumbled with his hands. Was he supposed to shake her hand? Or could they hug since she was technically married to him thirty years into the future? Queen Mal solved the issue for him. She took hold of his shirt and leaned up to kiss his cheek. He felt his entire face erupt into red.

"So long." Ben waved to the King of Auradon, who raised a hand to send him off.

Queen Mal skimmed his hairline and hummed. "I'm so glad we're not teenagers anymore." She told King Ben with a chuckle. "Well, goodbye Ben. I'll see you in, what two years?"

"He doesn't know when he's meeting you yet." King Ben filled her in. She nodded with a sound of understanding, and Ben wanted to ask when he'd meet _his_ Mal when the door opened and a white wind filled the room, making the light unbelievably bright and drowning out his vision. When fuzzy pictures started to remanifest themselves to him, he realized he was back in his room with his alarm clock blaring on the other side of the bed. He was on top of the covers, in his pajamas, and with a very bad crick in his neck. He sat up and felt his body. Nothing had changed or felt different. Had it all been a dream?

Then he looked up and noticed a card sitting on his headboard. On the front was the king's insignia. It looked exactly like the cards his dad would send out to people to let them know they had meetings coming up. He flipped it over, holding his breath, and read the back.

Crown Prince Benjamin is hereby formally invited to the King's Offices on the Evening of August the twenty-seventh at the time of two o'clock for a Life Appraisal. Please dress appropriately."

And really, you couldn't get more blatantly specific than that.

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**Vote on the poll on my profile.**


	12. The Two O'Clock Meeting pt 2

**Let me know if you're interested in a pt 3 spinoff. I do not own Descendants**

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Check out Her Royal Highness. 

"I'm so _angry_ I could tear him limb from limb!" Jay spat. He was practically frothing at the mouth as he slammed his bag to the ground and jumped onto his mattress.

"I'm so _tired_ I could sleep for the rest of my life." Evie yawned, sitting down on her bed and leaning down to unlatch her shoes. She wiggled her toes and frowned at the red calluses on the undersides of her feet that looked like little triangles from always wearing heels. "Jay, don't throw your bag so hard. You'll break it."

"I can't help it!" Jay growled. "Harry Hook is _so _stupid!"

"I'm so hungry I could eat an entire coil of rope." Carlos moaned, dropping face-first onto his bed. Simultaneously, everyone's stomachs growled. Carlos's face twisted in pain as he curled up a little next to his pillow. "Think we could steal one from the pirates? I'm sure there'd be some nutritional value with all the time those ropes spend in the ocean."

"If all that gunk from the water doesn't kill you, the pirates will." Jay pointed out, picking up a stick and starting to splinter off tiny pieces. "And your mom after them."

"It'd be worth it," Carlos grumbled, curling up tighter around himself.

"No, it wouldn't." Jay shot back.

"Maybe it would-" Carlos began, but Mal cut them both off.

"_I'm _so _sick _of your bantering that I might have to knock you both out the hard way!" She snapped. She sank back into the squashy chair and shifted from side to side to get the lumps pushed out to the sides. Her eyes closed slowly.

"Oh, bring it on Mal. I will take you on any day of the week." Jay retorted, flinging splinters at the ceiling.

"Yeah? Well, you'll lose every day of the week." Mal scoffed.

Jay flung a splinter at the ceiling. It bounced off and thwacked against Mal's head. Her eyes snapped open and she sat straight up. A deep green light made her eyes glow. Jay shrank back, silenced, and dipped his head in apology. He brushed the rest of the splinters off his bed and onto the floor, making Evie wrinkle her nose, and pulled the covers over his shoulder. Mal exhaled and leaned back into the chair. A cool wind rushed around the room and made her shiver. She crossed her arms and squeezed her eyes tight.

"I'm so cold I might freeze to death by morning." Evie mourned.

Mal sighed. "Yeah." She agreed. "Me too."

Across the room, Jay and Carlos made matching sounds of agreement. They all fell silent, shivering into hunched positions, and then Carlos let out a very loud sigh of relief.

"What?" Jay huffed irritably."

"Oh, a warm gust just came from underneath my bed." Carlos sighed. "It's like a magical fog."

Mal opened her eyes and stood up. The cold had made her toes numb. She wandered close to Carlos's bed, inspecting it, and then gasped. A mist was arising from the floor. Jay and Evie sat up across the room and Carlos rolled over as Mal dropped to her knees and began to feel around the floorboards. A hot space on the floor in the shape of a square was causing the air to steam. Her fingers found a groove that she was sure – positive – hadn't been there before. "Help me pry this up, Jay." She demanded. Immediately, a pair of larger, callused hands with short fingers joined her on the floor. They pried up the boards and looked down into what looked like a different world. Clean carpet was beneath them, and clothes were hanging up along three walls. A door was on the third wall. All four kids stared down at the view. Mal swallowed.

"I'm… going to hop down first." She mumbled.

"What if it's some sort of trap?" Jay whispered, furrowing her brow.

"Then I'll be warm before I die." Mal shrugged. She braced her arms on either side of the square – it was about two feet wide – and swung her feet over the side. She dropped down and landed with a soft thud on the carpet down below. The warm air made her skin prickle. She let out a breath, tested the floor, and looked up. "I think it's safe," She whispered.

Carlos and Evie jumped down after her, one by one, and then Jay slowly lowered himself down. The moment he landed, there was a whoosh, and the square in the ceiling disappeared. Mal took a little breath. "Uh oh." She mumbled. Hopefully, that didn't turn into a problem.

"Look at these clothes," Evie mumbled, pulling a shirt off of a rack and holding it up to her. She wrinkled her nose. "Oh, it's purple. And there's paint on it." She picked at something on the seam. "Where can I find some blues?"

Evie put the shirt back up on the rack and flipped on the light in the closet. Everyone blinked as bright, fluorescent lights blinded them. They looked around. "Wow." Jay snorted. "Good luck Evie."

The entire closet was filled with green, purple, and black, with a few shades of white here and there. Evie's mouth dropped open incredulously. "What on earth?" She gasped. "Who would wear this much purple?"

"I dunno, it kind of sounds like my kind of deal." Mal snorted, picking out a leather jacket with metal studs.

"Uh-huh, and is _this_ your kind of deal?" Evie asked, going to the back of the closet and pulling out a gigantic floor-length gown with spiderwebbing patterns across the bodice. Mal wrinkled her nose and turned away. Evie hummed and put the dress back. Mal squinted through more leather jackets and pulled one out.

"Tell me this doesn't look familiar." She hummed, turning and displaying the jacket to them. On the heart was her name, and on the back was Maleficent's symbol and the inscription 'Long Live Evil'.

Jay, Evie, and Carlos all stared at the artifact, and then they glanced around at the miles of fabric. Mal hung the second jacket up with pinched lips and turned her attention to the door. She stretched her hand forward to the handle. Right before she could wrap her fingers around the handle, the sound of a door slamming in the next room over made her yank her hand back. The door rattled on its hinges. Everyone's heads swiveled around as someone let out an unholy scream from the other room.

A door opened and someone began to speak. "Mademoiselle, I-"

"Get out Lumiere!" The person, a girl, who had screamed before yelled at the top of her lungs. "I'm not going to the stupid meeting! I'm done with everything! I quit my job, I'm not doing it anymore!" Something broke as it hit the wall and shattered. Mal turned around to her friends with raised eyebrows. She mouthed the word 'Wow'.

The door closed softly and there came the sound of someone sobbing from the other room. Mal carefully wrapped her fingers around the handle and opened the door. The crying stopped as she pushed the door open and examined the next room over. It was very large. To the immediate left was a large bed with blue and grey sheets and large, cushiony pillows. On the other side was another closet, but that door was propped open. Around the room, Mal could spot two desks. One was neat and clean, and the other horrendously messy with a dragon decoration on it. The far side of the room had several large floor-to-ceiling windows that peered out over a large city and an ocean in the far distance. Evie gasped, and Mal could see why. The barrier to the Isle of the Lost was visible out over the ocean. As in the place they had just come from.

Mal looked around the room for the person who'd been yelling. She couldn't see anyone for several seconds until she found the door on the far-right side of the room. A figure was leaning against the door, wiping her eyes and taking deep breaths. Mal's hands stilled at her side. The figure's hair was curled and clean and very, very purple.

"Mal?" Carlos asked, squinting at the figure. She sniffled and turned around.

"Carlos? I didn't know you were-" She stopped upon seeing them all. Mal took a few steps backward as she stared at herself. She was much older, with longer hair and makeup smudged on the corner of her eyes. And she was taller, too. "Oh," The older Mal blinked. "Are you my two o'clock meeting?"

"You have meetings?" Jay asked, confused.

Older Mal sniffled and wiped her eyes one more time. She opened the door. A white-haired man in a suit was standing outside, looking irate. "I'm sorry for yelling, Lumiere." She apologized. "I'll go now."

"His Highness already asked if you want to head down and see him before you do." Lumiere offered. "Would that make you happier?"

Older Mal nodded, still looking sullen. She turned and beckoned to the core four. "Come on now, follow me." She sighed.

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos all fell into a little line and followed Older Mal out of the door. Lumiere's mouth dropped open when he saw them, but Older Mal waved his shock aside. "Stranger things happen." She reminded him. "We'll be with Ben."

Lumiere nodded and turned to walk in the other direction. Mal had to hand it to him – he took things well. Better than her, at least. She tapped her look-alike on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, but are you _me?"_

_"_No." Older Mal sniffed. "I'm obviously older." Mal's mouth fell open.

"Was that you screaming in the other room?" Jay asked cautiously. "Cause you sounded really, really mad."

Older Mal's mouth twisted into despair. "I'm just so sick of everyone booking up _my_ art time! Can't they understand I just want to paint!" She burst into tears and suddenly sank to the floor, leaning against the wall. Mal backed away. There was no way this was her. She'd never be set off so easily. Older Mal hiccupped and scrubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry." She apologized again. "I'm trying to get used to all these hormones and it's hard." She pressed her hands to her midsection, and for the first time, Mal noticed that there was some very defined swelling there. She backed away with her hands held aloft. Nope. Nope. Not on your life, nope. There was no way to heaven that this could possibly be her.

Older Mal hiccupped again and got up. She restarted her walk down the hall, and the rotten four exchanged glances. Should they try and follow her? Slowly, one by one, they all took up their place in line again. Older Mal wandered into a receptionist area. She sniffled a little as she walked up to a lady behind a desk. "Debra?" She asked softly.

The woman behind the desk had auburn hair and wide-rimmed glasses. She smiled at the Older Mal. "Hello, dearie." She smiled.

"Hi," Older Mal sighed. She gestured at the four kids behind her, hanging out in the doorway. "My two o'clock has arrived." She drummed her fingers on her desk. "Is he available?"

"The King?" Debra asked with a laugh. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos exchanged wide looks as Debra examined them with a smile. "He's finishing up his 1:15 right now."

"Great." Older Mal sighed and turned around. "Come on guys, we're going to go see his royal pain in my rear."

"The king?" Mal blinked. "As in, the ruler of Auradon?" Older Mal nodded and thanked Debra quietly. She began to walk down a hallway. The core four followed behind closely. At the end of the hall was a single doorway on the left side with a plaque reading: King Benjamin on it. Mal stared at the plaque. Last she checked, the Beast's name had been Adam, not Ben. Ben was the prince. The fact that this read King Ben meant that the throne had been… passed on.

Older Mal put her hand on the handle without knocking and Evie gasped. "You can't just barge into the King's office!" She hissed, looking worriedly at the door.

Older Mal deadpanned at them. "Why not?" She asked.

"He'll get mad!" Evie whispered, twisting her hands together. Older Mal scoffed at them and twisted the handle. She pushed the door open with her foot and walked into the room. Immediately, a little shriek echoed from inside. Evie winced before they watched Mal scoop up a tiny torpedo of purple, who jumped into her arms and almost knocked her feet out from under her. They all took a cautious few steps inside.

The King's office had a large window behind a wooden desk in the center of the room. Paintings were hung around the room and books were packed into a bookcase to the immediate left of the desk. A woman with long, dark braids peered out and smiled when she saw them outside. "Wow, now there's some nostalgia!" She laughed. "Come on in, guys." She swept open the door wider. "We were just leaving. Come on, Jay."

Jay's head swiveled as a tall, caramel-skinned person appeared behind the woman, putting a hand on her shoulder. He blinked softly at them with dark, piercing eyes. "Wow." He hummed. "My hair was so bad when I was twelve." In response, Jay's lips pinched into a frown, but there was no denying that this older version of Jay has much, much better hair.

"It's bad no matter what." The woman joked, bumping him with her hip.

"You love my hair." Older Jay laughed, catching her in his grasp and kissing her forehead. "Well, have a nice meeting, you kids. See you in the mirror in a few years." They let the kids slip into the office beside them and shut the door behind them. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Mal turned around in shock, just in time to watch Older Mal set down a child who looked about seven as an older girl, only ten though, slumped into her chair with a colossal groan.

"Meetings are so boring!" She exclaimed, dragging her toes into the floor as her purple hair draped over her shoulders like a cloud. "Why do I have to do them?"

"You and me both, Co-co." Mal hummed. She bent down, peppering the little boy's face with kisses as he giggled and hugged her legs. Behind the desk was a tall man with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, who watched Mal kiss her son with a bright smile. Because really, that's what this was, right? Her son? With her bright purple hair and green eyes who was holding onto her for dear life? Mal felt like she might faint, especially as the man behind the desk with the same dark eye's as Older Mal's daughter focused on her and let a smirk pull at the corners of his mouth.

"Alright, baby, let me through." Older Mal hummed. Her son let go of her legs and sat against his father's desk as Older Mal walked around the desk.

"Heard you had a meltdown." The king hummed, sitting up as she walked towards him. Older Mal let out a disparaged sound. Ben stood up and tugged her into his arms. She laid her head on his chest as he rubbed her back comfortingly.

Mal exchanged bewildered looks with her friends. That was the King of Auradon. And the children in this room had his skin and her hair. And she was hugging him. "So… what's going on here?" She interjected.

King Ben hummed. "I'm hugging my wife." He told them. Mal deflated. Older Mal wasn't just a bizarre interpretation of what she could be if she'd grown up in Auradon, she was Queen Mal. Mal sat down hard in one of the chairs alongside the palace. The ten-year-old, Co-co, sat up and poked Mal's arm. "You look like me." She yawned.

"That's your mom, Colette." King Ben hummed, rubbing Queen Mal's arms. "You okay?" He whispered. She shrugged and sighed before turning around to the bewildered kids.

"Colette, Jordan, I need you to go play for a little while." Queen Mal requested, rubbing a hand over her face. "Daddy and I have a meeting with Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Mal."

Despite the bizarre situation, both kids nodded and went to the door. Colette stopped to steal a hug from her mom before disappearing out the door behind Jordan. Queen Mal waved to them as they left the room. "Colette Hope and Jordan Truth." She yawned. "Yes, I know their names are cheesy. Ben liked them and I was high on painkillers." She elbowed her husband as he offered her his chair with a roll of his eyes.

"You married the king." Mal hummed flatly. "Yeah, that sounds realistic. What sort of elaborate prank is this?"

"You're clearly not taking me seriously, so I'm just going to start talking." Older Mal grumbled. King Ben sat down in the seat his daughter had vacated with an eyeroll as Queen Mal twiddled her thumbs together and began to explain. "When I was sixteen, Then-Prince Benjamin was just about to ascend the throne when he issued his first proclamation, which stated the children on the Isle of the Lost should be given a chance to chose good and live in Auradon. He invited me and my friends over, and our parents sent us, hoping we'd be able to steal the wand from Fairy Godmother to free them on the Isle of the Lost. Once here, we learned that Ben's girlfriend would be allowed to stand at the front during his coronation when the wand would be used to swear him in as king. One love spell later, I was dating the king."

"Let me guess." Jay snorted. "She saw how great Love was and how happy everyone in Auradon was and decided to stay?"

"Basically." Queen Mal nodded. The core four stared at her incredulously. She shrugged. "Carlos decided he liked not being hit and mauled by his mother and also learned that he liked dogs, so he stayed. And Jay learned he was more of a team player who liked sports and not starving to death and stealing the same things over and over again, so he stayed. Evie had a prince let her down hard and picked up on chemistry as a consequence. She became a fashion diva on campus and a science star and decided she didn't want to go either. And I fell in love with the king. We all stayed in Auradon and helped bring kids over from the Isle."

"I was let down by a prince?" Evie asked, lip coming out in a pout.

"Oh, hard." Queen Mal nodded. She fiddled with something under King Ben's desk and then pulled a soda pop out from underneath it with a smirk to Ben, who rolled his eyes. She popped it open and took a sip. "You guys can sit down." She told the three standing VK's. "He told you that if you knocked out his homework with yours, he'd have time to spend with you. And then when Ben dumped his girlfriend for me, he turned around and picked that girl up. And then, he reported you for cheating with your mother's magic mirror. Your future husband saved your tail, and you started buckling down to study chemistry. And hey, what do you know, you got a different sort of chemistry with him after that. He helped you start up your fashion business, you got married out of Auradon Prep, and you have three kids right now and you say you're done."

"How many rooms are in his palace?" Evie asked, taking a seat near the desk and clasping her hands together.

"You mean your palace?" Queen Mal raised an eyebrow. "You bought your own palace with the money you earned from your dress business. And Doug, who is your husband, isn't a prince. He's the son of Dopey, one of the Dwarves from Snow White's Tale."

Evie stared at Queen Mal in incredulous horror. Queen Mal took a sip of her drink and didn't retract her statements as she pulled out her phone and started flipping through it. After a long pause, she held the screen out. "I have an album of you guys. Here. Swipe right."

Evie stood up and went to take the phone from Queen Mal with shaking hands. Carlos craned his head over her shoulder, staring in shock. Mal's fingers itched as Evie examined what she assumed was her future husband and children. Then she hissed out: "I look so good," And Mal had to hold back a snort.

"Carlos!" Queen Mal snapped to attention suddenly, making Carlos jump in his seat. "Ben introduces you to Dude, who is a dog. You end up falling in love with dogs and you and Jane adopt three after you get married. You have one child but really, all the dogs are treated just as well as your kid, so whatever. You're a computer technician who's also done lots of work on developing prosthetics for animals and for people." She drummed her fingers on Ben's desk. "I'll show you pictures after Evie finishes examining herself."

"Oh! Sorry!" Evie exclaimed, standing up and passing the phone back to Queen Mal. She redirected the pictures and extended the phone to Carlos before pressing her fingertips to her forehead.

"You okay?" Ben asked, sitting up.

"Headache." Queen Mal sighed. "Jay, you play this sport… it's called tourney. You do it professionally… I think you have one of the longest careers in the game. And you married Lonnie, who you saw walk out, and you two have twin girls at home right now. They're five, and they're both cute, but trouble. She's technically a hero's daughter, but since she's not royalty you get to avoid the courts, which is sad for me because now I'm alone."

Carlos, it seemed, had figured out to navigate Mal's phone. He turned around to show Jay the pictures of what he had found, and a look of amazement spread across his face. Queen Mal turned to the younger Mal, who was sitting rigid and pressing her lips into a firm line. "You're queen. You're married. Your mom is a lizard and a resident of the Auradon Reptilian institute after you shrunk her down to keep her from taking over Auradon. You have an art studio and two beautiful kids. What more do you want to know?"

"How do I know you're not lying?" Mal demanded, examining her older self with a scrutinizing gaze. "And how'd we get here from the Isle? And how do we go back? Who are you really?"

Queen Mal stared at Mal like she couldn't believe a child could be so stupid. "You literally saw the square entrance from the Isle vanish in front of your eyes, you can see the barrier behind you, and I don't care how much dirt is on your face, we're so clearly the same person it's ridiculous. What more proof do you want?"

"How did we get here?" Mal deadpanned, squinting suspiciously at Queen Mal.

"No idea." Queen Mal shrugged. "I just know you're my two o'clock meeting, just like I was the older, well, _my_ older Queen Mal's meeting." She frowned and mumbled under her breath: "Wow, I'm old now."

"And did you believe her then?" Mal asked.

Queen Mal shook her head and rolled her eyes. "No, but I can just tell you good luck trying to deny everything for the next five years. You really might as well go announce to the Isle you're going to be queen one day for all you can do to stop this from happening." She locked eyes with her husband across the room and they shared a mutual eye-roll. Mal bristled indignantly.

"I think you're lying, and I think this is a prank!" She snapped. "Who set you up to this, the pirates? There's no way that's actually the Isle out there! You must be pulling some sort of… hypnosis trick! That's it, you've teamed up with Facilier, or with Kaa the snake! None of this is real!"

King Ben let out a disbelieving groan and slumped down into his chair beside her. Queen Mal pinched the bridge between her eyes. "Did you take it like this?" She asked King Ben.

King Ben shook his head. "No, I just accepted everything and was a bit too starry-eyed about you."

"So you didn't even react. Okay." Queen Mal rolled her eyes. Ben snorted and shook his head, hiding his face in his hands as he continued rolling his eyes over Mal's reaction. Queen Mal leaned towards Mal. "Listen, sweetheart, this is how it'll work. You're gonna spend the next four years of your life snapping at all your friends about how this never happened until the day it happens, and then you'll be spinning your tires, knowing you recognize him, knowing that everything is playing out just like I said it would, and you're gonna have to accept that one day you'll be me, and that's the beginning and end of this." She closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair, picking up her soda and taking a long drink.

"I won't let it happen," Mal replied vehemently. "You might have been weak enough to slip and fall, but when I get _my_ chance to rule and terrorize Auradon, _I _won't let _my_ mother down."

"You tell yourself that sweetheart." Queen Mal replied with an eye-roll. She propped her feet up on the desk and then opened one eye to watch King Ben's dismayed expression. "And, technically, you _do_ get to rule and terrorize Auradon. I mean, believe me, everyone freaked out and panicked when Ben asked me to marry him."

"You posted a picture that read 'Well, I guess I'm fulfilling my mom's dream after all. #fivestepsfromthekingdom."' King Ben retorted. He stood up and walked to the desk. He stood behind the chair and put his hands on her shoulders before kissing the side of her head.

"It's always fun to poke at your kingdom." Queen Mal hummed, leaning back as he ran his fingers through her trademark purple hair.

"Do you like being a queen?" Evie asked, looking up from Queen Mal's cellphone. Queen Mal wrinkled her nose.

King Ben laughed. "She doesn't like it at the moment. Sometimes it's okay, but not when she's pregnant and has to sit through meetings about ocean pollution."

"Is that today?" Queen Mal whirled around, staring at King Ben in horror. He nodded with a sympathetic look. Mal let out a groan, slumping into his chair and swigging her soda. "I'm canceling." She declared. "And I'm going to sit in the bathtub and paint with my watercolors."

"You've canceled twice." Ben shook his head. "And for actual reasons. You can't cancel a third time just because you don't want to go."

"With bubble bath. And five pounds of Epson Salts. And loud Isle music." Queen Mal continued, ignoring him shaking his head. "And strawberries. Lots and lots of strawberries. And maybe pickles, peppers, and spicy Doritos."

"After your meeting." King Ben prompted. Queen Mal let out a tortured groan. "It's only six more years." He reminded her. "And then you can focus your time on painting and wasting the country's Epson Salt reserves."

"We ought to just take up investment by purchasing the hot springs near the North Mountains." Queen Mal mumbled, pouting as she nursed her soda.

"In the grand scheme of things, it might save us more money than if we buy individual bags of salt." King Ben shrugged.

"Mal, I need you to know about strawberries." Queen Mal changed the subject, nodding to the young girl sitting alone on the left side of the room. "They are the fruit of the gods."

"That's persimmon." King Ben sighed, still running his fingers through her scalp.

"The fruit of the angels, then." Queen Mal rolled her eyes. "They're red, with small seeds in the sides, and they're absolutely heavenly. I could literally live on strawberries."

"You literally tried that when you were nineteen and we literally almost took you to the hospital." King Ben deadpanned, leaning forward to raise an eyebrow at her. He was mocking her use of the word 'literally'.

"I could _literally die _on strawberries." Mal rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose at her husband. "You're going to love them. They're amazing. But, as a forewarning, when Ben asks if you want to try escargot, say no. It's a trap."

"Isn't that snail?" Evie asked, crossing her legs as she gazed in wonder at the portraits around the room. Two were of a very regal-looking Ben and Mal with crowns placed atop their heads.

King Ben and Queen Mal both nodded, the latter with green tones in her cheeks. She bent down and raffled underneath Ben's desk for a moment, and then produced a box of saltine crackers from underneath. Ben sighed. "Why are you raiding my stash? All your favorites are under your desk."

"But my desk is that way, in a different room." Queen Mal sighed, pointing to the left side of his office. "And I'm hungry now." She opened the box and withdrew a stack of crackers before offering him a few. Carlos's stomach growled. Ben took the crackers from her and passed them to Carlos before Queen Mal withdrew a second stack. Mal squinted suspiciously as Carlos opened the package.

"So, this is supposed to be a different time, right?" She asked as Carlos offered the package to both Evie and Carlos before standing and walking to her.

"It's the year 41." Queen Mal replied. "I'm thirty-seven, almost thirty-eight. I'm twenty-six years older than you."

"Is Mom still alive?" Mal asked.

"She's a lizard. I mentioned that, right? We're not really sure if she's… coherent or aging." Queen Mal shrugged. She turned the chair and put her hand into Ben's pocket, withdrawing his phone. "You're almost out of time. Want to take these with you?" She reached under the desk and pulled out a box of granola bars and a box of fruit snacks. Ben rolled his eyes and Queen Mal squinted at him. "You can steal mine." She told him. "But I'm not leaving this chair right now to go get them."

"And this all happened to you?" Mal spat. "The square and the closet of purple and marching into the King's office? You did all of this?"

Queen Mal nodded in affirmation lazily. Mal crossed her arms. "Well, I don't know what happened to you, but I'm not going to end up like you. I don't know why you'd want all this anyways."

"The food?" Queen Mal drawled sarcastically. Mal was momentarily taken aback by how similar they sounded. This prissy purple royal certainly _sounded_ like she'd once come from the Isle. "The central heating and air conditioning? The art studio and your sweet husband and your two children?"

"The meetings and the gowns and the responsibilities?" Mal challenged. "The lack of time and space? Throwing away your mom and your roots?"

"Getting out from under mom's thumb, making all your friends happy, meeting dozens of new people?" Queen Mal rose to her feet arching her eyebrow at Mal. "And not to repeat myself or anything, but you get a best friend who knows everything about you, who you get to raise two beautiful kids with?"

"Because you're so happy to be pregnant." Mal crossed her arms. "And bloated and emotional. Nope. Not for me. Sorry, Princey, you'll have to find a new bride. Maybe Evie would enjoy the task." She gestured to her blue-haired friend, who perked up at the idea of marrying a prince.

"I like that idea." Evie hummed, and then looked back towards Queen Mal's phone in Jay's hands. "But… I also like those kids. They look just like me!"

"Check out this uniform, Mal," Jay called, flipping the screen around.

Mal held up a cross hand. "I don't want to see, Jay." Jay lowered the screen, looking a little off-put.

Ben frowned at her. "I'd forgotten how angsty you were." He commented. Queen Mal shook her head like she was embarrassed.

"Well, you'd better get used to it, King Useless. Let me ask: have you actually done anything to fix the Isle? Or is everyone still starving to death underneath that barrier?" Mal stormed over and threw her hands down on the desk. "What kind of heroes let children starve?"

King Ben poked Queen Mal's arm. "That's your first meeting tomorrow." He reminded her. She nodded sadly, and Ben turned back to Mal. "She – you – and Evie, Jay, and Carlos form the approval committee to bring new kids to Auradon and make changes to the Isle. And then I approve changes. So far we have Medicare and instacare, preparation for juvenile internment in Auradon, education, the works. If we took you to the Isle now, you wouldn't even recognize it."

A whooshing sound echoed behind them, and a hole opened up in the floor of the office behind Mal. She turned and stared at it. Evie, Jay, and Carlos stood up. "Is that… us?" Carlos asked, peering through the hole. Mal looked through. She could see Jay, Evie, and Carlos on their beds, and her in her chair, exactly as they'd been before Carlos had alerted them to the heat. Carlos's shoulders slumped. "That means we have to go back." He sighed. "Can't we stay here with you?"

"Are you crazy?" Mal barked. "Um, Carlos? Long live Evil!"

"You married the king of Auradon and shrunk your mom into a lizard." Jay pointed out. "That's almost literally the opposite of Evil."

"I will not marry him!" Mal declared, face turning red. "How dare you – how dare all of you! I'm the daughter of the evilest of them all and I'm going to be just like her! Just you watch!"

King Ben pinched the bridge between his nose, Queen Mal covered her face, and Evie, Jay, and Carlos exchanged doubtful looks. Mal balled her fists up and dared them to challenge her. King Ben cleared his throat. "As much as we'd like to have you, Carlos, we can't. For one, we have no way to keep you here. For two, you have to go so you can come back in a different time. And I promise, Carlos, I don't forget you guys."

"But what if our Ben does something different?" Jay frowned.

"He won't. He gets the same talk you guys do, without the two angsty dragons in the room." Ben assured them, smirking sideways at Queen Mal, who pouted, wrapping her hands around herself.

"Oh, well, goodbye, I guess," Carlos mumbled, glancing down into the hole worriedly.

"It's not goodbye forever," Ben assured him. "You'll see me in four years, so it's more like a 'see you later'."

"Well, see you later, then." Carlos agreed, holding out a hand for Ben to shake. Ben pulled Carlos under his arm. The two exchanged a hug and then Carlos tried to return the box of crackers to the king.

"Keep it." Ben shook his head. "I know you don't get much on the Isle yet." Carlos nodded, peered down into the hole, and jumped in. He vanished. Evie and Jay gasped, but Ben waved away their concerns. "He just went back to his body. Now, who's next?"

Evie twisted her hands and stepped forward for a hug. Ben happily obliged her. She kept her arms around his chest as long as she could and kissed him on the cheek before she turned back to the hole wearily. She jumped in and vanished.

Jay and Ben kept it simple with a fist-bump and a bro hug, and then he abruptly stepped forward and hugged Queen Mal tightly. She patted his shoulder with a smile. "It's not for a few more years, Jay. You'll be ready when the time comes."

Jay nodded, turned, and disappeared through the hole. Mal crossed her arms and glared at her counterpart and the king as they wrapped an arm each around the other.

"For the record, I don't believe a word either of you said." Mal snapped. "I know this is all just some crazy prank or scheme that Uma or Harry cooked up to try and make me weak. I know I'll never betray my mom."

Queen Mal sighed and nodded like she'd heard this a million times before. King Ben rolled his eyes. "Well, go on then." He sighed. "Go prove us wrong and let me know in…" he paused, counting in his head. "Twenty-six years how that went for you."

"It goes well." Queen Mal sniffed. "Obviously." She kissed King Ben on the cheek. Mal gagged, and King Ben snorted.

"Watching you act like that is almost like watching Colette when she's in one of her moods." He whispered.

"Except Colette is fifty times more sass and twenty percent less angst." Queen Mal sighed. Mal stamped her foot and turned on her heel, but Queen Mal put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her from leaving. "Something I want to tell you before you go." She hummed and turned the girl back around.

Queen Mal twisted her wedding ring on her finger and Mal pinched her lips as she waited for the Queen to remember the exact wording. "I know you won't start listening to this advice until you're nineteen and you figure it's too late to change anything, so just keep this in the back of your mind until then. Ben likes it when you spread your hand on his shoulder, he likes your head on his ribcage, and if you kiss his ear, you'll send him through the roof. Also, the first… five times he asks to kiss you and the first thirty times he tries, don't let him. You'll know the time is right because the stakes will be set. Got that?"

"I'm not kissing anyone." Mal scoffed. "No one is wooing me, I'm not bowing to any crown, and no one is going to get me pregnant. So, watch out, because I'm not falling for your tricks." She turned away pointedly. She heard the King and Queen both scoff before she jumped into the hole. White filled her vision, along with a loud whoosh, and she opened her eyes to light filling the hideaway as if she'd just woken up. She was stiff from the cold. Her stomach was twisting painfully, but she wasn't tired. She'd slept. It had been a dream.

A clamor arose from the side of the room. Mal sat up. Carlos was on the floor, clamoring at the boards and feeling for something. Evie and Jay sat up, looking dazed, and glanced around. Mal frowned at Carlos. "What are you doing?" She demanded.

Carlos's head snapped up and he shrunk back under the combined gazes of all his friends. "I- I was just…" he trailed off, dragging his fingertips on the floor in a vain attempt to find a groove.

"Just what?" Mal demanded. No one met her gaze and she realized – with shock – that they must have been dreaming together. He was searching for the door.

Carlos shook his head and got up slowly. "Nothing." He assured her, still not meeting her eyes. She knew he was imagining her older self, pregnant and with Ben dragging his fingers through her hair. She set her jaw. "It must have just been a dream." He mumbled.

Silence reigned in the room. Then Jay sat up and said: "No, it wasn't." He leaned to the end of his bed and picked up a box – the box of saltine crackers from under Ben's desk. Evie covered her mouth as Carlos stood, hand shaking as he reached carefully for the box. They tipped the contents out on Jay's bed, staring in shock at the pale crackers and the brightly colored box. Evie took one and bit it, testing to see if it was real – it was.

"Look!" She gasped, picking up a white card that had been left beside the box. Mal snatched it out of her hands. She was so angry that the white card looked pink. Her hand shook as she glared at the words on the card:

"Mal Bertha Fairy, Carlos De Vil, Evie Lynn Grimhilde, and Jay Marriott of the Isle of the Lost are hereby formally invited to meet with the Queen of Auradon on the Evening of May the sixteenth at the time of two o'clock for a Life Appraisal. Proper dress is not required."

Mal threw the card to the ground. "Rubbish!" She hissed. "That is all absolutely rubbish!"

Her friends stared at her. Carlos awkwardly cleared his throat. "Uh, Mal? I think a blood vessel burst in your eye."

Mal ran a hand underneath her lashes and, to her surprise, her red vision cleared. She cursed, loudly, and her friends all jumped as she flicked blood onto the flooring and pointed at them all, leaning in closely. "This is all bull crap." She said, slowly. "Auradon is lying to us, somehow. There's no way they'll ever consider us more than their untouchables and I, for one, am not going to waste my time thinking that this stupid prank is ever going to amount to anything. You really think the crown prince, who's been raised his entire life drowning in jewels and comfort, is going to care about us? You lot can think what you want about whatever… twisted vision or elaborate prank we just experienced, but don't say anything about it to me. I'm not going to let them distract me or get in my head."

She turned around and began looking for a towel or something to wipe the blood out of her eye on. Evie, Jay, and Carlos all exchanged glances. It was bizarre, for sure, but it had struck up an intense feeling of power like they hadn't felt in a long, long time. And on top of that, Mal was acting exactly as her counterpart had predicted, meaning she was likely a long ways away from the threat of being nothing like Queen Mal was. The three folded their arms and quietly picked crackers off the pile as Mal ignored them all and cleaned out her eye. Not say anything, fine. But give up on hope?

Never.

* * *

**Vote on the poll on my page.**


	13. The Trouble I Get In

**You might not know it, but there are certain things a king should never, ever do. You know, like committing national treason, getting a girl you're not married to pregnant, or, in general, endangering your people. Ben knows this. It's not like they're hard things not to do. However... he may have bent the rules, just a little... Oops.**

* * *

It was eleven-fifty-seven. Ben's phone buzzed against his desk mournfully. He glanced down, glimpsed a contact with a string of kisses and dragon emojis attached to the short three-letter name, and picked up his phone with a smile. Immediately, his heart dropped into his stomach.

"Ben… I'm pregnant." The text read.

Ben pursed his lips and drummed his fingers on the desk. If she was, he'd be in trouble, since he hadn't married her quite yet(He had the ring, he swore!). Auradon would have all too much to say about that, not to mention his parents giving him a lecture on the security of the future of the kingdom and people in the royal courts yelling at him. He chewed on his lip and deliberated what to say.

What were the chances she really was pregnant?

The last he'd been clued in, she had been bleeding almost five weeks ago, so assuming that had continued normally, she should have been on her cycle last week… yeah, that checked out.

How would she know this soon? It wasn't like Mal exactly liked to go see doctors, though she would have if this was serious, and she couldn't leave the palace to go to the drugstore to buy a test like any other girl without someone spotting her and starting an internet campaign. Of course, she did have three slightly less conspicuous friends, not to mention their significant others and… yeah, that checked out too.

Ben dug his fingernails into his palms and took several steadying, deep breaths. His heart was racing a little. Had his collar always been this tight?

What were the chances Mal would send this over text instead of telling him face-to-face? True, she'd left Evie to deliver to him the note she was leaving Auradon, but-

Ben caught a glimpse of the date and time on his computer and all of the tension faded out of his body. Oh, right, today was April Fool's day. Ah-ha.

Ben slid on Mal's message and formulated his response. "Ha-ha. Yes, I know today is April Fool's day. Good try. I love you and I'll see you when I get off work." He added a few emojis that were blowing kisses for extra effect.

A knock sounded at the door as he put his phone down. Ben glanced up. His parents were standing in the door to the office. "Hi mom, hey pops." Ben greeted them with a smile and gestured to the chairs around the office, indicating they could take a seat wherever. Belle and Adam carefully stepped into the room and took two seats beside the desk, to Ben's left.

Belle rubbed her sweaty palms down her skirt, and it was around this time Ben clued into the fact they either looked extremely angry or extremely worried. They examined him as they sat down, and Adam let out a little breath.

"Son, something has come to our attention that we want to discuss with you." He announced.

Ben raised an eyebrow at the official, direct tone of his voice. "Yes?" He asked.

Adam swallowed hard. "We've been hearing talk from the servants that… you and Mal are participating in immoral behavior."

Ben let his hand fall onto the desk. Really? Now? They wanted to talk about this now? After his girlfriend/True-Love/Almost-Fiancée(Yes, he swore he was going to propose soon!) had almost given him a heart attack with her prank? (Speaking of the love of his life, his phone was buzzing again, but he couldn't exactly pick it up to look at it while he was talking, now could he?)

Belle frowned at his dumbstruck expression. "Ben, we raised you better." She whispered sternly. "You know how we expect you to treat the young women you date. Has anything been going on that could jeopardize the future of the kingdom?"

Always about the kingdom… always about the kingdom. Ben sighed. For one day, could it have nothing to do with the kingdom and everything to do with the fact Ben and Mal were in love? Just once? "Mom… Dad." Ben shook his head, trying to figure out how to subtly deflect the question without lying to his parents. "You know how I was brought up." He told them.

"Have you and Mal been sleeping together?" Adam asked, ignoring Ben's statement and fixing his hard gaze on his son.

"She's in her room at curfew every night, Dad." Ben shook his head. "We obey your rules."

"So, there's no possible way she could have gotten pregnant, correct?" Belle asked, squinting suspiciously at her son. Ben burst into laughter. Nervous, slightly irate laughter, but laughter all the same. This was a coincidence, right? It must be. There was no possible way they could know of Mal's prank yet unless…

…Unless they were in on it.

Ben furrowed his brow and then his face broke out into a smile. "Actually, I have something to tell you guys." He chuckled.

The color drained out of Belle's face. Adam looked like he'd swallowed an entire apple. It gave a whole new meaning to the description of "Adam's Apple".

"And that would be?" Adam asked slowly.

Ben wiped his expression clean, pushed his phone, face-down, away as it buzzed again, reminding him he had an unread text, and turned off his computer screen, giving the impression that he was completely serious. "Mal recently confided in me something that was quite shocking to me… she actually has a daughter on the Isle of the Lost who hasn't been brought over."

Belle's mouth fell open with a little pop. Ben began to stomp down on his foot and focused on the pain to draw the smile out of his expression completely.

"We want to bring her over next week." Ben continued. "But the problem is that the father was, ahem-" he blanked out for half of a second and then coughed. "Murdered. Brutally. By Jay."

Adam took Belle's hand, looking just as pale as she was. Ben bit down hard on his cheek to keep from laughing and faked a wince to cover it up. "I want to step in as the father, and I'm going to adopt Mal's little girl." He told his parents.

Belle let out a long, slow breath. "Okay." She mumbled, squeezing her husband's hand so tightly her knuckles were turning grey. "Okay." She repeated.

"There may be some mental problems, like abandonment disorders, but Mal and I have already agreed we'll work through it." Ben continued. "And that leads me into my next few points." He paused to watch his parents fidget anxiously and chuckled inwardly. "You already know I want to marry Mal, right?" He asked.

"We know." Adam nodded and exhaled. "Have you… have you asked yet?"

At his question, Ben deflated with an inward scowl. "Yes, and she said yes. However, she didn't want to get married in front of a big crowd, so we decided to go a non-traditional route."

"Non-traditional?" Adam asked.

"Didn't?" Belle blurted out. "As in, past-tense, didn't?"

Adam stared at Ben in horror. Once again, Ben had to suppress his laughter. "We got married a few weeks ago and decided not to tell anyone." He lied. His parents squinted at him, and he knew he was toeing the line of 'you're being ridiculous and we don't believe you'.

"It was in San Fransokyo," Ben explained. "Don't you remember back in February when we stayed out late for Valentines? That was when. We used grandma and grandpa's old rings. And yeah, I have the certificate down in my room."

Belle slumped back into her chair, looking like she was going to faint. Adam was tearing up, looking like he'd swallowed a soap bar. Ben held their gazes evenly and couldn't help but think: 'every boring, stupid meeting I've ever sat through in my life has led up to this moment.'

He swallowed his glee and continued. "There's more." He told them. "Mal is, actually, pregnant. But she doesn't want either of her kids to be put on the throne. So I've been working on something I hope you'll support me in." He reached into his desk for a file folder at random and opened it, tilting the contents away so his parents couldn't see what it actually was. He focused on the collection of Official Auradon debts in his hand as he took several slow breaths to keep from exploding.

"We're going to leave the palace and live out near the Summerlands. Before we go, I want to reverse all the laws against magic so that Mal can actively use her talents again, and we're going to turn her mother back into a human and bring her with us. Mal thinks that after all this time, her mother has probably mellowed out, and we think it'll be safe for it to be just the five of us out on the Summerlands." Ben began, glancing up to watch his parent's faces turn colors. "

And now, for the big play. Ben set the folder down and put his fingertips together as Belle shook, and Adam's teeth clamped down on his lip. "And then, to keep Mal's kids from ever having to be in line for the throne, I'm abdicating." Ben declared. Belle gave a gasp and her eyes rolled into the back of her head a little bit. Adam, however, narrowed his eyes, and Ben knew he had seconds to finish his declaration. "The throne will go to Jay, who's going to rule jointly with Carlos and maybe Evie."

"You're bluffing." His father deadpanned. "Aren't you?"

Ben burst into laughter. Loud, raucous laughter. He put his head down on his desk as his shoulders shook and his stomach began to ache. Tears spilled out of his eyes as he laughed. "Your faces – oh, I wish I had a camera!" He laughed.

"Oh, you little!" Belle made a violent gesture. "I completely forgot! It's April the first.

"You turd." Adam grumbled. "So, all of that was made up?"

Ben nodded, still bent over and wheezing. "Yeah. I'm not going anywhere. We're not bringing anyone over. Mal's not pregnant. It was just a joke."

"So you and Mal aren't married, aren't sleeping together, and aren't leaving?" Adam asked.

Ben shook his head silently with a smile, referring only to the first and last statements. Belle let out a little sigh as she got to her feet. "We're going to get you back." She threatened. "Aren't we, Adam?" She helped her husband to his feet as he shook his head.

"Let's not start a war, dear." Adam sighed in a long-suffering tone. "I've had enough excitement for the next week." He leaned over and clapped Ben on the shoulder. "I should have known you better than to think you wouldn't be taking this seriously. You're a fine king, and Mal will make a fine queen."

Ben ignored the stabs of guilt and nodded with a smile. "She will be." He agreed. Just as soon as he proposed to her(like, soon. Really, really soon).

Adam smiled, and Belle rolled her eyes, and the two of them turned and headed towards the door. As they crossed into the hallway, he picked up his phone, expecting to see a series of complaints that he'd figured out Mal's ploy so quickly.

"April Fool's Day?" Mal asked. Then, a minute later, "You guys have a day specifically to play pranks on each other and didn't tell me?"

Then, the last word text: "I literally had no idea what that was, Ben. This is actually 100% serious. I'm pregnant." Followed by a picture of her holding an ultrasound photo with her name and yesterday's date stamped in the top right of the paper. Mal's fingernails were visible – purple and chipped – and she had a streak of purple paint on her hand, all but confirming it was her.

Ben drummed his fingernails on his desk. What were the chances this was fake? Mal could always have pulled something off the internet, but… he frowned. If she was, then she couldn't be more than three weeks in, meaning that the baby would be about…

Wow. That checked out.

Ben set his phone, still open, on the desk and put his chin on his hands as he stared at the texts. Mal was serious. This was real.

He closed his eyes and groaned as a horrible thought struck him. Oh boy, were his parents going to kill him.

At least it could be worse, right?

* * *

**Read Her Royal Highness for a longer, more intense and realistic Bal story.**


	14. Tag, You're It (Locker Art Wars)

**The first time Ben tags Mal's locker, it's just with an invitation to join the art department. But then... she reacted so 'well' that he couldn't resist doing it over and over again and again. Whoops.**

He hears about it long before he actually gets to see it.

The rumor mill starts turning, people start passing notes and whispers and then Fairy Godmother is coming over with a tight-lipped expression to confirm what everyone is saying, what 'That Girl' has done to their school lockers. By the time he's actually led to the site of the problem, he's heard the descriptions in so much detail that the only surprise he feels upon seeing the graffiti on the wall is in relation to the one detail everyone conveniently forgot to mention.

It is amazing. The details are smooth and crisp. He has no idea how the daughter of Maleficent is so unbelievably talented with a spray can, but boy, is she ever! Fairy Godmother leads him right up to Mal's locker and then stands wringing her hands as he takes in the image of her mother with the motto 'Long Live Evil' engraved into the design. He runs his hand over the paint and discovers it's all in one sheet – it'll probably just pull right off. He hums as he examines the clean ut of Maleficent's horns and then turns back to the Fairy Godmother, who is looking irate and stressed.

"We ought to get her into Art Classes, and then we could actually compete with Corona's Art Department," He decides.

Fairy Godmother stands in shock for a few seconds and then relaxes a little as she considers this. "Well, there's talent, no denying that, but… on our school lockers?" She frowns in disapproval.

"It looks like it'll peel right off," Ben hums, furrowing his brow. He could go and talk to Mal, ask her if she'd be willing to not spray paint the lockers, but he doubts she'll listen to him. If they have someone clean it off, then there's a chance she might just… expand her canvas. At least like this, it's contained. Ben runs his fingertips down his chin and a little smile crosses his face. "Fairy Godmother, I know this isn't really the solution you want to hear, but is there any chance we can just… leave it up?"

Fairy Godmother's face twists up and her eyes water in pain at the idea of having graffiti depicting Maleficent up in the school. Ben hurries to back himself up. "Just temporarily! I'm going to try and get into her graces. Maybe I can convince her to take it into Art Class, or at least see if she'll depict something other than 'Long Live Evil'." He runs his hand down the locker door. "Besides, I don't think it's that much of a problem, to be honest. If I can't convince her to take it down, we can leave it up for a few months and clean it off before we leave for summer break. I'll pay for any damage that the paint causes, if any."

Fairy Godmother is still regretful, but Ben implores her and with the assurance that the palace will make sure the locker is restored by the end of the year, she agrees to let the matter slide. So, Ben moves on to phase 2 of both his Isle Transferee plan and his Get-Mal-Into-Art-Class plan. He has to talk to the mini dragon and convince her to take it down.

He sees his chance when he's walking out of class with Chad and Audrey one day. Audrey is mid-sigh, laughing at one of Chad's jokes, when Chad hits Ben's arm lightly and a scowl darkens his expression. He points down the hall, past the passing students, to the defaced locker that is currently open with a pair of spray-paint covered leggings poking out underneath the door. Behind Mal, Evie's locker is open, and she's checking her eyebrows, which are immaculate as usual. "Those kids are trouble," Chad hisses.

Ben pulls his pen out from behind his ear and puts it into his pocket, looking down the hall as Evie shuts her door and bids Mal farewell. In his pocket is a black permanent marker, which he must have put there earlier and forgot about. "Come on, Chad," He implores. "Give them a chance."

Audrey lets out a little sigh and steps forward to give him a lecture, but he is barely listening because Mal glances past her locker door and down the hall, which is starting to clear, and he knows as sure as he knows his name that she can hear them, somehow.

"I think you're wrong about them," He declares when he hears Audrey fall silent. She sighs in exasperation and then turns and walks away. Chad casts another distrustful look towards the girl down the hall, and then he turns to follow her off down the hall. Ben heads in the opposite direction – towards the purple-haired fairy hiding behind her locker. She closes it when she hears him approaching and turns as if she's going to walk past him. He leans into the lockers, blocking her path, and smiles. "Hey," He greets.

Mal blinks a little as if she's surprised that he's dared to speak to her. "Hey," She returns.

"How was your first day?" He wants to know, glancing at the books she's clutching in her arms. One of them, unfortunately, looks like her mother's spellbook. She can't be the only villain kid to receive a gift from their parent. Maybe he should have paid a little more attention to the cracked mirror Evie was using to examine herself earlier.

"Super," Mal hums, pressing her lips together in a way that makes the pink tones grow a little lighter for a few seconds.

Pleasantries aside, now is the time to strike. Ben nods his head towards her paint-covered locker. "You should really think about taking this talent off the locker and into Art Class. I could, uh, sign you up?"

Mal examines his gaze with a little squint and keeps her lips pressed together. "Hmm," She hums as if she's considering it. "Way to take all the fun out of it." Then she squints her eyes at him a little more, turns in a smooth motion, and walks away without another word.

"Huh," He hums, leaning back into the locker next to hers and then staring at the graffiti as student pass by in front of him. He shoves his hands into his pockets and feels the cap of the sharpie that had somehow ended up there.

And immediately, an idea comes to mind.

He pulls the sharpie out of his pocket – it's black, he should invest in a set of purple or blue – and then turns to examine Mal's artwork. He knows he can't draw for crap, but his handwriting is pretty and elegant and… kinglike. It'll do nicely. Ben locates an area on the right side of Maleficent's wing and, on top of the green, scribbles: Art Club meets after school, in room 36. Go check it out. Then he caps the sharpie and walks off in the other direction. There isn't much fault in putting graffiti over someone else's graffiti, he thinks.

* * *

Mal, it would seem, does not agree with his reasoning.

He knows the moment she enters the room because the temperature drops and kids fall silent. Chad takes a deep breath of frustration, and he turns nonchalantly over his left shoulder to watch the Core Four enter the room. It's not at all surprising that they're here, but it should definitely be noted that they look like they're walking into battle. Each one stands with a stance of iron, frigid gazes sweeping over the crowd and hands clenched into fists. Mal's eyes are bright green and she looks so, so pissed. Evie spots him first and puts a hand on Mal's shoulder. Quickly, everyone else's gazes drift to Ben, who looks at them for a few seconds with mounting amusement as their jaws all set into place, and then turns around to return to his lunch.

There's heavy footsteps echoing off the walls and all in perfect synchrony, just like the standing army of Auradon. He listens to them get closer and closer and fiddles with the marker in his pocket before someone slams something down into the table in front of her. He glances up briefly at the maths book before Mal plants her hands on the table and glares down at him. He pulls the marker from his pocket and does his absolute best not to laugh, picturing every undesirable thing he can conjure up on the spot to aid him, as he puts the permanent marker behind his ear.

"Yes?" He askes in a conversational tone.

"You defaced my locker," Mal sneers.

Ben snorts, loudly, and a sound that has all the Auradon kids around him exchanging looks. "You defaced your own locker," He reminds her. "It was a note, princess, so you might as well put the battle squad away." He gestures to the way Evie, Jay, and Carlos are all braced behind her in perfect, solid formation, clearly ready to jump him and beat him into a pulp. Still, he doesn't back down. Mal is Isle, and the Isle respects strength. He has a feeling that if he stands his ground, she'll back off before she orders her gang to attack the future King of Auradon. This way, he shows strength and, hopefully, earns the Auradon kids some respect.

"Princess?" Mal repeats, looking absolutely disgusted. She sneers and Ben swears he sees lightning flash inside her eyes, like there's a tiny storm brewing in her pupils. It's absolutely amazing.

"Royalty of the Isle of the Lost?" Ben asks, spooning a bit of fruit salad as he looks back down at his tray. "Or, well, I guess Princess would be Evie. And I know that this is weird coming from the King of Auradon, but does the title 'Queen' do you a bit more justice?"

He raises the spoon to his mouth and Mal slaps it out of his grasp. Little bits of colorful cottage cheese goes splattering across his suit and the table. He sticks out a lower lip. "That's mean. I was going to eat that," He sighs, and reaches for a napkin. "Perhaps you'd like to be referred to as 'Dragon', instead?"

"Don't touch my locker again," Mal hisses, pointing a finger in his face. He looks down and notices pencil lead stains on the tips of her fingertips. Paint is underneath her nails. How interesting.

Ben doesn't say anything. He just calmly finishes mopping up the last of his lost fruit salad. An idea pops into her head. "Mal," He has to pause to keep from laughing. "Go eat. You're not yourself when you're hungry."

Chad starts coughing beside him at the reference to the popular online meme. A look of confusion passes over Evie, Jay, and Carlos's faces. Mal's lip curls, and then she abruptly shoves herself back up and takes her book off the table. She heads off with her associates following her. Ben gets up, finds his spoon, and sits back down again. Lonnie leans over the table with a little smile spreading across her face. "You're not going to quit, are you?" She asks in a whisper, tracking the four villain kids with her eyes as they head over to the lunchline.

"No," Ben shakes his head with a snort. "She's asking for it now. Game on."

* * *

Mal fixed his last message and unintentionally left him a wide, blank canvas. He fishes his marker out of his pocket and uncaps it. On Maleficent's left side, he makes a little row of four stick figures, all holding hands, above Mal's Mom's arm. Then, he adds little lines, like the group is casting a glow, and sets about to decorate the stick figures as best as he can. Mal, the shortest stick person, gets three wavy lines for hair and a deep frowny face. Evie gets a skirt and a jacket, and lots of pretty squiggles for hair. Jay gets a hat and a vest with no sleeves, and Carlos gets some curly hair and headphones. On the right side, he writes: 'Let me know if you want help signing up for Art Classes. Art Club is still available after school.'

The stick figures are a little wobbly and Mal's frown is bigger than her face, but the additions look overall pretty neat. He puts his marker in a pocket with a satisfied expression and walks off.

Later in the day, he walks into class and Doug, Chad, and Audrey immediately flag him down. Doug plants his hands on his desk and leans forward as Ben puts his backpack in his chair.

"Did you tag Mal's locker?" Doug demands as Audrey puts a photo down of the scribbles.

"Yeah," Ben affirms with a smile crossing his face. None of the VK's have come to glare at him, so he assumes they haven't heard yet or they're planning. Well, plotting, actually, as they prefer to call it.

"Dude, she's pissed," Doug gapes, staring at him in shock. "She stormed past me in the halls with Evie – her hair was steaming!"

Ben frowns. "Oh," He mourns. "I wish I'd gotten a photo of it."

Chad begins to laugh. "Nerves of steel, Ben, way to go! Show those Villain Kids who's boss!"

Ben shakes his head. "Actually, I'm just trying to convince Mal to join Art Classes. She's talented."

"Talented?" Audrey repeats, lips curling into a sneer that reminds Ben of Mal. "She made graffiti of her mother, and you're calling it talent?"

"Yeah," Ben agrees. "Did you see the detailing? She did that with a spray can. Can you do that with a spray can?"

Audrey stays silent because, of course, she cannot do that with a spray can. Ben shrugs and pulls his books out of his bag. "She won't be mad, anyways," He shrugs. "It's not like she can do much to get back at me."

* * *

"Oh my goodness," Audrey gasps as they walk up to his locker. Ben stays silent as he examines the long, ugly word splattered across his locker door. 'No', she has written, in black eerie paint. Part of it is still fresh, and the air smells like aerosol. He brings a hand up to his chin as he examines her work – all contained to his locker, thankfully. He glances down the hall to her locker and discovers that it's been stripped clean. There's not even any paint left in the hinge. No way she could have done that that quickly. She must have a spell for it, he realizes with amusement.

"This is… vandalism!" Audrey shrieks. "Ben, look at it, it's hideous!"

"It'll come off," Ben rolls his eyes. He opens his locker and puts his books carefully before he feels in his pocket for his permanent marker. He locks his door, heads over to Mal's locker, and then in big, bold letters writes: "Please?" Then, because he feels like the question merits a drawing, he begins another shaky stick figure of Mal with crossed arms and a frown dropping off her face like an overgrown mustache. Audrey watches him, shaking her head.

"She's just going to keep going!" She warns him with narrowed eyes.

Ben nods in agreement. "Probably," He affirms. "It's nice to know I've got her goose though."

As he puts the marker away, he spots a flash of orange leather out of the corner of his eye. He turns and sees Jay stop in the entrance to the hallway, cross his arms, and examine Ben's new handiwork. Then, Ben watches Mal's friend raise a hand to cover his mouth as he tries his hardest to stop a laugh.

Ben raises a patronizing hand. "Don't laugh," He demands with as straight of a face as he can procure. "Not all of us are blessed with art skills."

Jay says nothing as Ben and Audrey walk away from the scene of attack. Ben is pretty sure he hears Jay start to laugh as soon as they're a fair distance away.

* * *

Ben bumps into Jay the next day – literally – because the hallway is crowded and doesn't think anything of it until he reaches his locker and discovers his trusty permanent marker is gone. Jay must have snatched it from him when they slammed into each other, Ben realizes with a sigh. And it's a shame, too, because Mal has defaced her locker again, but this time with a black design that resembles her and her squad. Ben traces the outlines in Carlos's curly hair and smiles to see Evie's mirror in hand and Jay's beanie expertly slouched on his forehead.

Then, he glances down the hall at his own locker and finds that the large, ugly word has been cleaned off. Instead, a mockery of the royal crest is atop his locker door. The beast in the crest is sticking his tongue out and one eye is slashed through. It's in the proper golden colors, and what amuses Ben the most about it is the fact she knows how to draw the royal crest.

He doesn't have a marker on hand, but he does know where to get one. There's several options: borrow from someone else, borrow from the art room, or…

During lunch that day, Ben makes a point of walking in late with a grocery bag slung over his arm. Mal and her friends are already sitting down at their table when he comes up behind Chad and Audrey and puts a hand on Audrey's shoulder as he puts the grocery sack on the table. "Sorry I'm late!" He announces, loud enough for his voice to carry. "I, uh, had to go pick up some things."

He glances over to Mal's table and watches Jay and Carlos turn around at his proclamation. His permanent marker is behind Jay's ear, but it doesn't matter as he reaches into his bag and pulls out a new pack of sharpie markers. He displays them in his arms as if he's just showing Chad and Audrey, but they're in clear sight for the villain kids to see as well. Jay, Evie, and Carlos's mouths all fall open and they turn to stare dumbfounded at Mal as the angry dragoness curls her nails into the lunchroom table.

Chad and Audrey take in the sight of the markers, and then turn to look over at the villain kids, who have effectively been duped. A snap comes as Mal accidentally breaks one of her long nails off her finger. Evie gasps in concern as Ben and Mal lock eyes from twenty feet away; her in barely-contained rage and he in scarcely-suppressed amusement. Because this is a declaration of war.

In his hands, he holds a full set of pretty purple markers, just a few shades off of her hair.

He spikes an eyebrow at Mal as a bright, gleeful smile spreads across his mouth. Evie starts to laugh, and Jay doesn't look like he's far behind as Mal's hands shake. He puts the markers away and sits down at his table, feeling very successful as Chad and Audrey exchange bewildered looks.

* * *

In retaliation for his stunt in the lunchroom, Mal wipes his locker clean of the crest and leaves it blank and white. He guesses it's because she doesn't think he deserves her artwork. Of course, that won't do, so he covers his locker himself.

Which is a mistake.

Because, if you'd forgotten…

Ben can't draw.

His locker is covered with an unintelligible mess that Ben is honestly embarrassed of. He tried to draw his family crest himself, and it looks about as much like the beast as a fly looks like a dragon. He tried to do a tree because he figured something like that was a good place to start, but now there's a jumble of squiggly lines that he can't even admit was supposed to be a tree for fear of bringing shame and dishonor on him, his family, and his cow. Lastly, he tried to do a heart because he figured that was simple enough, but his arm slipped on the second side and now he has a very odd cane shape. He can't even remember how he managed to do the stick figures at this point.

Ben gives up on his own locker and, feeling a little disheartened, heads over to Mal's locker, where she and her friends still stare down at everyone who passes. He scribbles underneath the portraits: 'Art Club is still after school. Have you checked it out yet?'

He's just barely put the marker back into his pocket when Mal and Evie appear in the hallway and stop upon seeing him there. Evie bites her lip and looks to the ground while Mal's face goes white upon seeing his message. Ben smiles and waves to the two. "Hey!" He greets. "How are you guys today?"

"I'd be a whole lot better if you'd quit messing with my art!" Mal snaps, stomping up to him.

Ben nods, pinching his lips together in amusement. "I see how that would be frustrating," He hums. "I, too, am suffering from minor annoyances. There's a certain girl who should be displaying her talents on canvases in hallways everywhere and proving to everyone she's the best artist around, yet she lowers herself to defacing my locker with cream paint." He sticks a thumb out to his locker and watches Mal's eyes flick towards it once, then back to him. Suddenly, she processes what she just saw and leans to the far right, mouth falling open, to stare at his locker.

Ben remembers too late the awful squiggles covering his locker door.

"What did you do?" Mal wails, covering her mouth in absolute horror at the awful atrocities covering his door.

"I'm… making your artwork look even better than it did before," Ben declares, trying to fight the pink tones as they surface in his cheeks. And he's not wrong. With his abominable locker being just down the hall from Mal's masterpiece, it looks way more impressive than before.

"What even is this mess?" Mal whimpers, looking like she's in physical pain as she examines Ben's failed heart attempt. And it is a mess.

"Well, see, this right here is a… well, a," He falters, trying to come up with a good cover story. "It's a drawing of some of… Bigfoot's hair?" He chokes. "And this is a cracked candy cane and this right here is a mythical creature you hope to never meet outside your worst nightmares." He turns to watch Mal shrink into despair at his horrific artwork plus dazzling cover story.

"You're horrible!" She declares, looking and sounding like someone had just fed her entire soul through a grinder.

"Is that a compliment from the Isle of the Lost?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

Evie laughs as Mal braces her hands at her sides. She shakes her head. "I'm not touching that atrocity," She tells him. "You created it, so you can stare at it." She forces herself to turn and walk back to her locker, and a brilliant idea strikes Ben. If she's so embarrassed by his drawings when it has nothing to do with her, then…

Later that day, the words 'The artist who did this also did the locker down the hall' appears underneath Ben's invitation to Mal on her Locker door. Then, on his locker, he puts 'By the Daughter of Maleficent – Don't Mess With Her!'.

And then he waits.

* * *

His purple markers start disappearing whenever he's near Jay or Carlos. He kind of just lets them go; it means Mal is still invested in this battle.

His declaration that Mal had done the lines on his locker had produced the desired effect of Mal freaking out over her artist reputation being ruined. She'd cleaned his locker – and hers – clean before covering his with angry scaled beasts in dark shadows with hideous limbs and features. Meanwhile, on her locker, she creates a mighty dragon breathing fire down onto a tiny person.

The rumor mill is churning. Most people think that the person the dragon is burning is Ben, but Ben personally agrees with Audrey when his girlfriend proclaims that it looks a little like her. He has to figure out a way to get Mal to remove or change the new graffiti before something bad happens.

Fortunately, he knows a fairly easy way to do that.

He uses his third-to-last purple permanent marker to doodle a little dog in the fire with tiny Audrey-lookalike. He doesn't have to try to make it bad. The dog's belly is deformed, one eye covers a third of the face, one leg is about three times the length of another, and the tail is a floppy squiggle line. Then, he makes a broken mirror around the dragon's fiery breath and adds tiny flecks falling as if the dragon had broken through the mirror. He needs something for Mal, so he does a rough drawing of her mother's spellbook on the bottom of the locker before announcing in capital letters across the top of her locker: Tourney Game on Saturday – Look for Number 8, Scoring the Winning Goal.

And then, underneath, in smaller letters: 'Art Club after school and Art Classes still open for enrollment.'

During third hour, the entire school hears a shriek of rage that echoes off the walls and actually makes a windowpane in Fairy Godmother's office break. "Ben!" Mal can be heard cursing his name across the entire school.

Ben's class all turns around to stare at him. "Is that Mal?" Lonnie demands as the teacher pauses class with wide eyes.

Ben shrugs. "Probably," He affirms.

"What did you do?" Audrey asks with a deep frown. "She sounds pissed."

"She probably is," Ben laughs. "I drew over her new artwork on her locker."

One of the other kids in the class sighs dramatically, sinking back into their chair. "Dude, can you just ask her out the normal way?" He demands. "Isn't the paint a little excessive?"

Ben's mouth goes a little dry as Audrey's mouth drops indignantly. "I, erm, am not trying to ask her out. I'm trying to get her to sign up for art. And, before anyone else asks, it's going pretty well. Her friends all think it's hilarious and I think she's growing more attached to the idea than she realizes."

"She's going to kill you," Jane gasps in horror.

"Are you sure you're not trying to ask her out?" Someone else asks suspiciously.

Ben presents Audrey at his side. "Girlfriend," He introduces sarcastically. "I'm not asking Mal out."

One of their classmates blinks in surprise. "You're still together?" They ask. "I thought you broke up ages ago!" Audrey's face contorts in hurt.

Huh. The rumor mill has been a lot more active than he realized.

* * *

Mal changes her art to a detailed exhibition of some wicked green flames, but Ben's nasty depictions of brutal beasts stay up. Ben uses his last purple marker to scribble Mal and her friends with him a little ways away, all in stick-figure perspective. Above Mal', he puts a downwards-facing arrow, and makes her at least an inch shorter than all her peers.

Mal responds with a cutting portrait of his corpse in a coffin, which she takes down the next day without any prompting from him or Fairy Godmother at all. Even the daughter of Maleficent has her reservations and depicting the dead crown prince is apparently one of them. Ben is touched, even though the locker art turns back into dragons in the wake of his body.

His locker art hasn't been touched in some time, so he scribbles over it with a new golden permanent marker, from a pack of five-hundred that he'd opened in front of Mal and her friends, and the next day there's a picture of his dad with Auradon behind him, standing on the dirty Isle of the Lost.

It is one of the most stunning things he's ever seen.

Of course it is grotesque, as is Mal's usual style, but it's also intense and impressive. The lines and shadows in his dad's face are detailed and structured, and the Isle is hideous and demeaning in a way that only a citizen could express. Meanwhile Auradon is bright and flashy and a completely different sort of repulsive to Ben. It's prideful and antagonizing.

It's done with actual paint and brushes, not just spray cans. A different sort of art that she really put her heart into.

He's staring at it after class one day when Audrey walks by and her face twists into a sneer of rage so powerful that Ben doubts Mal and her friends – 'his villain kids', as people have been calling them – could rival it if they tried.

"You need to stop this!" She demands, dropping her purse on the floor and sticking out her lower lip to show how serious she is.

Ben blinks in surprise as he tears his eyes off of the painting and stares at his girlfriend. "Stop what?" He asks.

"This!" She yells, gesturing furiously to the portrait. "With the VK's and the spray paint and Mal!"

"It's actually Acrylic paint, this time." Ben corrects, brushing his fingers along the details. "See the brush strokes?"

"Ben!" Audrey snaps, glaring at him even more now.

"I don't see the problem, Audrey," Ben huffs. "It's not hurting anything."

"It's hurting us!" Audrey disagrees with her eyes filling up with tears. She waves her finger back and forth between him and her. "You and I! You've been focusing all your time on what's the next big thing that Mal's going to draw and every single date has been about 'I'm going to do this to see Mal's reaction' and 'Mal is going to hate me for this'. I'm sick of it, Ben! You need to stop this right now!" She balls her fists up into tiny balls that probably couldn't even snap a pencil if they tried.

"Audrey, it's just a joke. We have our little jokes between you, Chad, Lonnie and I. It's just something I'm doing for fun. What's so bad about that?" Ben crosses his arms in defense.

"What's wrong with it is that you're going off in the deep end for a villain kid instead of me, and I don't know if you've forgotten this, but I'm the one you're dating, not Mal!" Audrey snaps, with angry, stressed tears streaming down her face. She must have been thinking about this for a while.

"Audrey, you need to calm down!" Ben holds up his hands. "Listen, I'm sorry if I've been neglecting you or anything. I'm just trying to make them feel more welcome and help them start more friendships. If you want, you and I can do something special later on this week. Would that make you feel better?"

Audrey wipes her eyes a little and picks up her purse. The argument seems almost over. Ben hadn't even realized when he'd stopped paying attention to Audrey – it just sort of happened. He glances back to the stunning portrait and that's when Audrey snaps.

"If you don't quit this painting nonsense, I'm breaking up with you, Ben," Audrey tells him with clenched fists. Ben's mouth drops open. Over a joke? For real?

Well, there was one thing Ben knows, and it was that he was not going to let Audrey's temper outburst break up the lead he had with the VK's. "Well, then maybe we should take a break," He frowns. "I don't like you trying to manipulate me with our relationship. That's not the kind of person I want to be with."

Audrey's mouth drops open. "You're breaking up with me?" She asks.

"I think you're breaking up with me," Ben corrects. "You said that if I didn't quit the painting stuff, we were done, and I'm not quitting the painting stuff. So, we're done." He turns back to the portrait, away from Audrey, opens his locker, and takes out a white permanent marker. Audrey stands still, in shock, as Ben goes over to Mal's locker and writes, in the bottom right-hand corner, 'Thank You'. He listens to Audrey breathing hard in rage, and then hears her spin around and walk away. Ben continues his little note. 'The portrait is exquisite, and I love it so much. Do you have a name for it?'

"You could just ask me that in real life," A voice comes from behind him.

Ben looks over his shoulder and spots the purple-haired girl standing over his shoulder, examining the note as he writes it. She shakes her head. "How can someone with such beautiful handwriting be so bad at drawing?" She asks.

"How can someone who spent all her time learning to be a villain have so much talent?" He replies. "Your drawings are just… flawless."

Mal makes a sound of acknowledgement in the back of her throat and twiddles her thumbs a little as she gazes at the dragons on her locker. "Are you, uh, okay about Audrey?"

"Oh yeah, fine," Ben nods, examining the dragon on her locker and then reaching up to write her name in his most beautiful cursive. "Like I said, I don't want to be in a relationship with someone who uses that relationship against me. And besides, Audrey hasn't really been acting like someone I would want to make a queen since she got here."

Mal hums, quietly watching her name appear in beautiful, official-looking font on her locker, and then turns and walks away.

* * *

Ben wakes up a little late and doesn't have time to run to his locker before breakfast. When he walks in, the room goes a little quiet, and the Fairy Godmother appears, gesturing to him frantically. As a precaution, he seeks out the villain kids to make sure that he isn't being summoned for Jay stealing something or for Mal destroying someone's property, but they're all present and don't look like they're into more trouble than usual. Jay is wearing his tourney shirt and Evie is fixing her makeup while Mal watches him over the pages of her spellbook.

He grabs a raspberry Danish and then the Fairy Godmother leads him through the halls to where his and Mal's lockers are. Ben gasps when he sees what the new development is. Stretching across Mal's locker in place of the dragon is a very realistic painting of Gaston, his father's attempted murderer, shaking hands with Audrey, his ex-girlfriend. As always, it was very detailed and immaculate, but the sinister tones implied in the painting make Ben shiver.

"This is going a bit far, Ben," Fairy Godmother tells him. "We didn't say anything when she depicted you dead, but this is just… too much. If Audrey complains to her parents, we'll have to stop this whole escapade, no matter how funny it has been for the whole school.

"I'll ask Mal to change it," Ben nods, pulling his phone out of his pocket and backing up a few steps to photograph the painting. "Look at this detail! How does she put so much into such a small space?"

"It is amazing," The Fairy Godmother agrees. She folds her hands. "So, is the rumor mill true? Are you planning on asking the daughter of Maleficent out?"

"Since when are you one to get involved in student relationships?" Ben asks, raising an eyebrow. "And no, I'm not. I'm just trying to convince her to sign up for art."

"Ah," Fairy Godmother nods. "I was asking because apparently Carlos and my Jane will be going to a movie on Friday evening, and Doug and Evie are doing an 'independent study group'. Jay of course has tourney, and Mal has an ongoing art war with the Crown Prince of Auradon."

"War is a strong word," Ben hums, even though it had been him to first declare war with the markers. "It's more like… an argument. Or a strongly-pictured discussion with depictions of my dad and ex-girlfriend involved."

"A war," Fairy Godmother nods. "Well, I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do," Ben nods, going to his locker, opening it, and pulling out a blue permanent marker. Jay and Carlos are still stealing his markers. He's running out of good colors and has a feeling Mal will return to being a little annoyed if he writes on her locker in hot pink. Under Fairy Godmother's watchful eye, he scribbles on her locker door, right beside the lock: 'Who else can you do? Suggestions: Evie, Jay, Carlos, Yourself. Art Club after school, will you be there?'

"You should just ask her out," Fairy Godmother hums. "You would be cute together."

Ben rolls his eyes. "I'm just going to stick to getting her into art class." He laughs.

* * *

The next morning, Jay and Carlos stand outside of his door when he unlocks it. He supposes that at this point he should just assume the villain kids will never become predictable to him and he should just expect them to pop up, but their dramatic appearance still shocks him.

"Sup!" Jay exclaims, crossing his arms and nodding sharply to the ceiling.

"Have you seen Mal's locker yet?" Carlos asks.

"I just barely woke up," Ben laughs. "But let's walk down and see it."

"Well, it's your locker, and her locker," Jay corrects. "And, um, you may want to wait till later. Apparently, there's a crowd outside of the area."

"A crowd?" Ben frowns.

"Admirers," Carlos nods. "Students and Fairy Godmother and some people from the National Art Association. But when you do get the chance to see it, just know she stayed up till the sunrise finishing everything."

"Sunrise?" Ben's eyebrows shoot up. "Does she even sleep?"

"Not anymore," Jay shakes his head. "She's been staying up to finish these portraits because you like them so much."

"Huh," Ben furrowed his brow. He hasn't even considered when Mal is making all her masterpieces, and now he feels rather guilty. "Where is she now?"

"I think she told Evie she was missing her first class and then she'd go to the rest," Jay explains. "But anyway, we came to warn you about your locker, and also to return a few things." He pulled a fistful of markers out of his pockets, and Carlos did the same. Ben laughed and held out his hands to take them back. His smile faded slightly as he examined them. There was the sparkly gold and the dark blue and all of the purples and the white one, but not all of the colors had been returned.

"Why are you only returning a couple?" Ben asks with a frown.

"Well, about that…" Jay trails off, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We've grown rather fond of some of the colors," Carlos declares, turning his head a little so Ben could see the headset around his neck and the sharpie design that now cover the side of the earpiece.

"Wow!" Ben's mouth drops open as he leans forward and examines the design. "Did Mal do that one too?" It features two crossed bones and several different shades of red, grey, and black.

"She did," Carlos affirms. "But anyways, we're keeping the colors we like and returning Mal's favorites."

Ben frowns again. "Why would you return Mal's favorite colors? I mean, if she wants to use them, them-"

"No, not her favorites to use," Jay shakes his head. "Because we're keeping all the greens and some purple too. But these are the favorite ones that she likes to see on her locker. She says if you start using hot pink then she'll paint someone she hates naked on your locker in retaliation. Just a warning."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ben shudders. "I doubt anyone would enjoy that very much."

"Yeah, she'd probably get annoyed with it and take it down herself after a while," Carlos agrees. "That's what happened with that one where you were dead. She got herself all upset painting it and then couldn't keep it up after that. She got really into this whole thing. It's like, the most important thing to her now."

"I love it," Ben confesses. "I definitely didn't mean for it to go this direction, but I think the whole school is enjoying it at this point."

"Everyone is saying you're going to ask her out," Jay reminds Ben, sticking his hands into the front of his athletic jacket. "That true?"

Ben shakes his head. "I'm not planning on it," He explains. "Though lots of people have been asking me lately."

"Oh," Carlos's face furrows up. "Okay, cool. Hey, if you ever do, you, me, her, and Jane should all see about doing a double thing."

"Oh yeah, I heard you and Jane were going around," Ben nods. "Jane is super nice. We grew up together."

"Yeah, she's great," Carlos smiles. He glances at his watch. "Hey, Jay, we've got to get to class. It was great talking to you, Ben."

"Nice talking to you too! Thanks for tipping me off about everything," Ben raises his hand to wave to the two boys as they salute him and start walking away. He can't believe that Mal has people from NAA looking at her artwork, much less that she's stayed up all night working on a project. He wonders what she'd drawn this time.

* * *

A figure in purple is slumped over at a picnic table in the shade. Ben has to keep from laughing as he walks over, examining her hair, slung forward onto the table, and her fallen backpack beside her. He sets his gift down in front of her and carefully announces his presence. "Hey Mal!"

Mal stirs and opens an eye. She flips her hair back into place over her head and Ben stifles a chuckle at the way half of her hair settles back into place on her head and the other hair remains spoofed from the angle she was lying at. She blinks several times and then yawns as she raises a hand towards him. "Hey, Ben," She mumbles, leaning against her hand.

"Jay and Carlos told me you were up late," Ben begins, then pauses as Mal begins to nod as her eyes drift closed. "So, I brought you some Iced Black Coffee with no milk and no sweetener and also I know it's not as good as anything you can do, but I asked the barista to draw a little dragon on the side of the cup." Ben turns the cup around to show off the dragon as Mal's eyes fly open and she examines the drink suspiciously.

"That's my order," She frowns. "How did you know that?"

"I'm in charge of you guys while you're in Auradon. I know everything about your lives." Ben explains as he took a seat.

"Did Evie tell you?" Mal asks through a yawn as she reaches for the cup and examines the dragon. A little smile spreads across her mouth.

"Evie did tell me," Ben affirms with a nod. "You'd better try it and make sure I got everything right, though, otherwise I'll have to run back and get a second."

Mal snorts and takes a sip, closing her eyes as she does. Ben drums his fingers a little and watches her sigh in relief. "I'm tempted to say it's wrong so you can run and get me another, but it's perfect. Thanks."

"No problem," Ben laughs. "I'm sorry it didn't occur to me that you were staying up to paint."

Mal nods. "It's the detailing that takes the longest. My locker was being the troublesome one last night. I couldn't get my eyes to look right."

"Your eyes?" Ben asks, perking up a little. Had she drawn herself?

"Have you seen it yet?" Mal asked with a frown.

Ben shook his head. "Jay and Carlos tipped me off that you had National Art Associates at our lockers today, so I've been avoiding the area while it clears out."

Mal furrows her brow a little in disappointment. She reaches down and picks up her backpack before she gets to her feet. "Come on," She invites him, nodding her head to the school.

They walk through the halls in silence, shoulder to shoulder as Mal sips her coffee. She leads him to the hall with their lockers. It is still relatively crowded with people who are gaping in amazement at the paintings. Mal steps through everyone and the area clears for the creator. Ben's breath catches as he looks over Mal's locker. On it are the portraits of her, Evie, Jay and Carlos. Their hair is sleek, shiny and lifelike. Mal is holding a sword and staring straight ahead with a dark purple leather suit covering her. Evie is turned slightly to the side, looking over her shoulder, and Jay and Carlos pose with their shoulders back in firm positions. If not for the size comparisons, Ben would swear he was looking at the actual Core Four.

"This is amazing!" He sputters, waving his hands a little in a complete inability to express his meaning. "This is… this is! How do you do all of this in one night?" He leans in, searching for the tiny brushstrokes covering the locker. "Do you use magic?" He gasps.

"No," Mal shakes her head. "Using magic would take the fun out of painting. And to be honest, I like yours a lot better." She points down the hall to where Ben's locker is. Ben tears his gaze away to look towards his own space and his entire expression falls slack at what he saw. He leaves Mal's locker and walks down the hall to brush his fingertips down his very own portrait. It is completely unlike any portrait he's ever seen of himself. He has his hands clasped underneath his chin and is wearing a simple yellow button-up shirt. In this, he appears to be sitting at one of the outdoor lunch tables, and he's looking up at the sky and to the right a little bit as he laughs. She's caught him mid-laugh. It's so natural and lifelike that he almost expects to catch himself breathing. Even the grass behind him looks real. Bordering the painting is a solid gold frame with the beast crest – the proper one, this time – set in the center of the painting. The shading behind the frame is so realistic that you can only tell it's a painting if you're looking at it from the side.

"How are you so talented?" He gasps. "I haven't met a palace personnel or anyone who can draw as well as you can. This is such raw talent…" He turns to stare at her in utter amazement. A little blush creeps across her cheeks.

"This is amazing," He tells her. "It's like I'm looking through a window. Just absolutely crazy." Ben stares at Mal, eyes tracing her jawline and eyes. "Why won't you sign up with the art department?" He asks.

Mal wrinkles up her nose a little and her shoulders slump a bit. "I, um…" She trails off. "I don't want to waste my time having people tell me things I already know."

"But think of all the people you could help!" Ben protests. "And just imagine all the things you could learn about the business. This would be so good for you!" He puts a hand on her shoulder and looks straight into that electric-green gaze of hers. "Mal, you should totally do it."

"Well…" Mal trails off, looking a bit confused. "It's not that easy," She sighs.

"Why not?" Ben asks. "What have you got to lose? You could make so many friends and have lots of art supplies and get to make tons of new friends! Plus, I'd stop pestering you to join."

Mal moves away from his grip with a downcast expression. "I don't want to join," She sighs. "I just… I'll talk to you later." She turns around with another sigh and a shake of her head, and Ben watches her part the crowd like the red sea before she's gone.

* * *

The artwork stays for two more days, and then it's all gone. Back to clean lockers and no paint. Ben can't understand where he went wrong. He feels like he almost had her. She had been so close to agreeing and then… something had happened. He lays awake at night, thinking about the downcast, almost regretful manner in which she'd said 'I don't want to join." Clearly, she thought it would be cool. Clearly, she had talent. What was holding her back?

During lunch, as he sits with Chad, Doug, and Lonnie, watching the villain kids from a distance, he notices Mal picking at her plate and mumbling to Evie, Jay, and Carlos. Something is wrong. Something that is starting to feel a lot like it's his fault.

Doug leans across the table. "Did Fairy Godmother shut down you and Mal?" He asks.

Ben shakes his head. "She actually approved of the whole thing. Mal just told me she didn't want to join and now the locker art has just… died." He sighs, slumping back into his chair. "I'm really… disappointed, but I don't know what went wrong."

Doug pulls out his phone with a sigh. "How about I text Evie and ask if she has any clues?" He offers, unlocking the screen and going straight into the messaging system. Ben sighs and doesn't say anything as Doug types out a lengthy message and then sends it to Evie. The group turns as one to glance at the VK table as Evie reaches into her purse, pulls out her phone, and glances at them. As one, they all return their attentions to their plates while Evie answers Doug.

After about a minute, Doug's phone dings. He holds up the screen to read the text's contents and then clears his throat. "Tell Ben to meet Jay, Carlos and I by the tourney field at two." He relays, and then shuts off the screen.

Ben sighs and nods. This is something that requires a face-to-face discussion. He only hopes he's prepared for it.

* * *

Evie, Jay, and Carlos are all sitting in the lower section of the bleachers when he walks up. They watch him approach with forlorn expressions. Ben swallows as he took a seat facing them and Evie twisted a black book in her hands. It's filled with loose leaflets. She puts it down on the bleachers and gestures at him to pick it up. Ben does as she commands and pops the seal off on the book.

"Mal's been having a rough last few days," Evie whispers. "She's pretty bummed about the locker stuff."

"I am too," Ben sighs. He opens the book and is greeted to a welcome, familiar sight. It's the original 'Long Live Evil' graffiti he first noticed on her locker. A smile spreads across his face at the memory. He flips the page and discovers the other artworks she's done. Demons and dragons and everything she's put on their lockers. His dead body is obviously missing, but that was okay because he isn't been particularly attached to it. He reaches the end with the portraits of them, and then keeps going. There are things from the Isle and from Auradon Prep and from a land he assumes is entirely Mal's creation.

Near the back of the booklet he starts seeing himself more and more predominately. In class, in the halls, standing by his locker, and everywhere in-between.

"She got really into this," Carlos mumbles from behind Ben. "We think it's because she got really into you."

"She only kept up with the locker thing because she saw and heard how impressed you were," Jay explains.

"And then she realized that if she started taking Art Classes, it'd stop. All the little notes and you asking her things and her getting to tag your locker with graffiti… and then she couldn't even though she started to kind of want to." Evie sighs, running her hands through her hair. "Now, she's just kind of in a 'blah' phase. She doesn't really want to work on anything because she's sad."

Ben traces one of his portraits with his fingertips and a quiet smile. Then he swallows. "I think I might have an idea," he announces slowly. "Can you send Mal to our lockers? Just send her a text and I'll meet her there."

* * *

He can hear Mal's boots hitting the floor as she walks closer and closer to him, so he turns and begins to doodle a tiny crown on her locker. He hears her stop in the doorway of the hall and mentally prepares himself for Mini-Maleficent before he heard boots stepping towards him and turns to watch her forlorn, blank expression as she walks towards him.

"Your drawing is still horrible," She mumbles. "You're defiling my locker."

"Another Isle compliment?" He asks, and then drops the white sharpie and recaps it. "It was supposed to be a crown."

"It looks more like a chewed-up sunflower seed." Mal laughs.

"Yeah, I can't draw," Ben agrees with a chuckle. "I can write, but I can't draw. Maybe I could, though, if I had a good teacher." He glances over at her and their gazes lock in something in something incredibly powerful that he can't quite fathom yet.

"A teacher?" She clarifies. "Is there a question in there?"

Ben jerks his head back to where his locker is. He turns and together, they walk down to his locker. Ben's locker is open, hiding the back plate from view. Ben shuts it with a flick and then stands back as Mal examines the locker. On it is a letter, written first in gold and then in white. A tiny, enchanted smile crosses Mal's face as she reads it.

'Mal,' it reads, 'Art Club is still after school and Art Classes are in need of a leader. My class schedule is full, but I still need a tutor to help me with my drawing skills. Why don't we sign up together and call it a date?'

"I thought Jay and Carlos said you weren't planning on asking me out?" Mal asks with a tiny, breathless gasp.

"Well, I changed my mind," Ben smiles. "The truth is, I missed much more than just your artwork. I missed the conversation and the connection. I need someone like you, artistic and funny and beautiful, in my life. So, what do you say, should we sign up together?"

Mal smiles with a little nod and then chuckles. "Lead the way to the registry, Beast Boy."

Ben laughs as he puts an arm around her, and they head off to the Art Room to announce the two latest members of the after-school club.


	15. Not Missing Anything

**Companion Fic to Can You Hear Me. **

Ben had never particularly liked being deaf. In fact, the whole experience was rather unfavorable. It had been awful in the beginning, bearable when he learned to read lips, and a daily inconvenience once he met Mal, who had the incredible ability to give him short tastes of sound every so often. Mal, his lovely fairy wife and the current Queen of Auradon.

Ben had always known he was going to miss out on things. He was going to miss conversations and voices and songs and sounds. All he'd ever be able to communicate with were hands and the movements of other's lips. That's why it had been a miracle when Mal had discovered an old spell in the back of her mother's book that gave her the ability to share thoughts with him for five minutes. This was five minutes where Mal would pack every sound she could think of into his head, knowing beforehand the things he wished he could hear.

Like the fanfare when they announced them on television.

Or his mom's laughter as she came over to put her arms around Mal.

Or Mal's hushed whisper as she covered her mouth and told her friends a treasured secret.

One he hadn't known for a while after that night.

It had been during a Christmas party as they sat together, hands entwined and her head on his shoulder, that she had confided the secret to him near the end of the five minutes of sound. He remembered the moment in perfect clarity. Her hair was slung over the back of the couch. The sequins on her red shirt were getting caught in his ugly sweater. The secret had been so sudden, so jarring that he'd jumped straight out of his chair to stare at her in growing shock. The buzzing of the crowd that she'd shared with him was still filling his ears, as was Jay's loud, boisterous laugh, as her own words echoed off the inside of his skull.

Ben had always known he was going to miss out on things. He'd never hated that fact more than at this moment.

Mal dug her nails into the armrests of the hospital bed and screamed so loudly that all of the nurses flinched, even though they continued running around. Ben couldn't hear a thing. Sweat was pouring down her brow and veins were pulsating in her neck. She writhed a little and let out another scream, and Ben felt his heart twist as he squeezed her forearm. She absolutely refused to give him her hand, knowing she'd break it.

When Mal had told Ben he'd be a father, all of the old curiosities he'd had about his future when he was a kid suddenly came to life, and it had scared him out of his mind. There'd be someone new. Someone who would have to learn their dad couldn't hear them the normal way. Someone who would learn they could take advantage of his lack of 360-degree vision and hearing to sneak around his back. Someone who might resent him for not being able to listen to them like he should be able to.

Mal had accepted him. From the moment she'd learned, she'd been courteous and patient and on nights when they were alone she would perform that little spell over and over, teaching him the way he sounded and she sounded and his parents sounded and how everything sounded. She'd picked him despite his ailments. What about their baby?

Ben pulled Mal's hair back from around her head as tears forced themselves out from underneath her eyelids. Her hands were trembling despite holding onto the armrests with a grip of steel. He leaned into her ear and began to mumble sweet nothings to her as she heaved for breath and fought to keep the tears back. His poor fairy was in pain, and there was nothing he could do.

Despite all the commotion of the doctors running around and Mal screaming (And Ben was pretty sure he was crying a little too because Gosh-Darnit this was stressful and sickening!), he couldn't hear a thing. Couldn't hear if Mal was cursing his name or begging to be done already. Couldn't hear what instructions the doctors were calling. Couldn't hear. Couldn't hear.

Things like this weren't meant to be silent.

Things like all the times she'd gotten up in the mornings to be sick in the bathroom and he'd never known and never gotten up to hold her hand or pull her hair up until it was too late because the World Was Silent.

Things like at their first appointment together when the doctor had flipped a switch to let them hear the baby's heartbeat and Mal had sobbed while Ben had simply sat there in Deafening Silence.

Things like her water breaking last night, except he'd gotten up to get a glass of water and then turned around to find everyone yelling, scrambling to their feet, grabbing her hands, and he found out twenty seconds after everyone else because He Couldn't Hear And The World Was Silent.

And now, with the glass window panes breaking in the wall and Mal bending the plastic of the armrest into a new shape and her face going red as she cried in pain, and he might as well not even be here because he can't make out a word she's saying and he's absolutely no help and the world is Silent and he's still missing out, no matter what he does.

The sun is coming up and Ben assumes that they have to be almost done with this ordeal. He squeezes Mal's forearm again and closes his eyes, bows his head, and prays.

He's done a lot of praying these last few months. He's probably prayed for lots of things he shouldn't have and he's probably prayed way too vocally for Mal to be unaware.

"Oh God, I'm missing everything. I'm going to miss everything. I'm going to miss them crying, their first words, everything. Mal's going to have to be the one to get up every night and I'll never be able to beat her to our baby because I can't hear.

"Why would you do this to me? What could I have possibly done to deserve this? Why would you hurt the people I love by doing this to me? Why, God?"

A hand takes his jaw and pulls his head upwards. Mal's mouth is closed as she focuses all her energy on reaching out to Ben. He glances down to the nurses, but the baby hasn't been born yet. She's just withstanding the pain to try and reach out to him. Her fingertips are shaking as she folds down her middle and ring fingers in an 'I love you'.

He takes her hand and squeezes it, but she doesn't dare squeeze back because, again, she doesn't want to break his hand.

There are a few more long minutes of him squeezing her hand and her trying to take deep breaths as tears fall from her eyes like drips being wrung out of a rag. The other armrest Mal is squeezing snaps off into a piece of jarred plastic and part of Ben is glad she's trying not to squeeze his hand while the other part wishes she'd indulge him with a little pain because then he'd be able to share this moment with her a little better. For him, there is no pain and there is no sound.

Then Mal's face breaks out in relief and a cool, flushed color seeps into her cheeks and neck as she slumps back into the hospital chair. He almost panics, because he wonders if she's passed out or died, but then she squeezes his hand softly and looks up at him. She mouths something that's a little hard to understand since her lips are cracked and she's breathing heavy, but still recognizable. "A boy, they say," She whispers.

Ben's head snaps down the table and he watches the nurses wrap a loose bundle up, all with gentle, relieved smiles. Mal nudges him a little for his attention, then makes a motion almost like finger guns, gesturing towards the baby with both hands. She follows this with a motion almost like 'I'm watching you', but without the connotation and also gesturing towards the baby. 'Go See'.

He gets up, kissing her cheek a little, and goes to hover behind the nurses as they rinse the baby – his son – off, put a diaper on him, and wrap him up in a new blanket. Then, one of them turns with the baby in her hands and holds him out to Ben, and Ben's hands shake as she puts his new son into his arms and guides his hands on where to support the small person.

Ben, once he has the baby in his arms, turns and takes him straight to Mal. She tries to push herself up into a more righted position, smile bright as she watches his traverse the room. She reaches up to take her son – their son – and Ben lets the baby go into his mom's arms without a fight. Then, he sits back and watches her.

Mal's smile is bright and her eyes are still full of tears, but now for a happier reason. She examines the new prince's face while cradling him close to her chest. Her hair is sticking to her face and there's a cut on her hand from the broken plastic and she looks absolutely perfect. The sight makes tears stab into Ben's eyes because this is his little family. Him and his wife and their son, and it is perfect.

Mal starts talking to their baby then, and a stab of bitterness shoots through Ben's chest. He can only see half of her mouth with the way her head is turned. Their son is still crying. His mouth is open aloud and he's writhing a little, but quickly calming down as Mal murmurs to him. It's devastating.

Moments like these are not meant to be silent.

Mal looks up at him and her expression falls a little upon glimpsing his. She holds her hand out and he sees the words "You've had too much silence, huh?" appear on her mouth. Before he can even stop himself, his hand is in hers. Because she's right; he's sick of silence. He doesn't want to miss out on this with her.

Mal mumbles her spell; words he knows by heart but could never pronounce, and immediately his head is full of noise. The noise of the nurses rushing back and forth and of the car thrumming on the way here and Evie, Jay, and Carlos panicking. The noise of him murmuring to her and then the noise of Ben's cell phone ringing and, really, just the noises he's missed out on the last twelve hours.

"Show me a few minutes ago," He begs. "What did you sound like? What did it sound like when you heard him for the first time?"

Mal frowns a little, embarrassed, and shows him a high-pitched yell that he immediately knows is hers. She's toning it down though, obviously embarrassed, but it's Mal and he's used to her not wanting to show pain.

He has time to squeeze her hand before a different peal of sound echoes through his ears, loud and shrill, and Ben jumps a little at it. This is their son. This is their son crying.

He actually has the opportunity to hear their son cry.

Mal replays that four or five times as his eyes drift from her to their baby, and his shoulders shake. The newborn has calmed down in the crook of Mal's arm and his eyes are drifting closed already.

"He looks like you," She announces after reapplying the spell. She doesn't often cast it in multiples since it wears her out and Ben understands it's her gift, not his privilege, but he's grateful she has. Especially for a conversation. Usually, they converse in signs and this time with the spell is for exchanging sounds only, but it's refreshing to talk with her normally. He could close his eyes and still hear her, and he likes that idea a lot.

"I think he might have your eyes," Ben replies. "We'll have to wait and see."

"But just look at the way he _is,_" Mal stresses. "He's you. Just like you. No one will ever mistake him for anyone other than your son."

Ben runs his fingertips down the baby's cheek with a smile. "Thank you," He whispers.

"For the baby or the spell?" Mal asks, raising an eyebrow. "It seems a little odd to thank me for a baby you helped with."

Except he didn't. He didn't help because he couldn't. He missed every bout of morning sickness and every wince of pain and even the moment her water broke because his world is silent and they only time he gets to experience the metaphysical color of sound is in times like this.

Mal's thoughts break through his like centurions forcing opponents to break formation. She maintains an indifferent look as she replays a string of sounds to him. His footsteps the night she asked him to run out and get her food at three a.m., Chad Charming complaining as he left a meeting early to accompany her to an appointment, him singing slowly(He's been trying it out in small amounts, repeating snippets of songs Mal shows him, and going slow and gauging other people's face to see if he's doing okay) in the middle of the night to her, and countless other sounds that have happened the last nine months.

"You forget, but I don't," She tells him. "You've been around exactly as much as I've needed you."

Ben wipes the tears out of his eyes, leans down, and kisses her cheek. "Thank you," He thinks as the spell ends. Mal doesn't even have time to say anything before his world goes silent again.

Silence. Deafening Silence. But there's comfort in that phrase at the moment. Ben sits on the side of the chair, wraps an arm around Mal to rest on the baby's head, and puts the other on her hand as she smiles down and coos at their new baby boy.

And for once, he doesn't feel like he's missing anything.


	16. Constellations

**This story holds a lot of my views on what marriage should be - two people who prepare to be ready for one another and who stick through the bad times because they know they'll become better people. Never a decision to be taken lightly, and never something you should do with 'I'll get a divorce if it doesn't work out'. You can try and fight me on this, but I know I have a strong family life because of the examples set by my parents before me and their parents before them. Marriage is a two-way street to self-betterment. It is here to make us as gods.**

* * *

"I'm not sure who has more hate; all of the old villains and their children for being locked away in poverty for twenty years, or you because that sweet boy has his arm around our daughter." Maleficent hummed, wrinkling her nose as she twisted the charmed shackles on her wrists.

Hades snarled. "Don't know why you call him sweet. We both know you hate him just as much as I do."

Maleficent nodded in distaste, giving up on trying to wrestle her hands free and slumping back into the couch with her red wine in hand. She'd been allowed to attend the before-wedding party that the palace threw the night before the night before Ben and Mal were married(The actual night before was reserved for gender-specific festivities, she was told), but was still required to wear the charmed shackles that forbid her use of magic. It was like a second engagement party, but only for the bride and groom's friends and family. It was being held at the palace, on an entire floor of the palace. The wedding party was gathered in a small study/lounge area with large velvet couches and thick plush pillows and heavy beanbags slung around the area. Elaborate paintings were hung between gold wall furnishings and dozens of bookcases. The palace had pulled out dozens of different types of drinks for their guests to enjoy as the night passed in celebration.

Ben and Mal were standing behind a couch about ten feet away, laughing as Ben's parents regaled them with tales of Ben's youth and of their first impressions of Mal. Hades's blood boiled. His daughter's in-laws, the Beast and Belle. The very people who'd locked them away for all those years. Their son, the High King, had the _nerve_ to put his arm around his daughter. To call her his Queen. To kiss her and act as if they belonged together. Why, it made him want to-

"Don't light the couch on fire," Maleficent sniffed. "And I hope you're not blaming me for all of this. You know how I raised that girl. I'm sure the rumors got to wherever you were hiding."

Mal glanced over the shoulder of one of her friends – the Jafar kid, if Hades remembered correctly, and smiled a little while raising an eyebrow. Hades forced a smile back, even as King Ben leaned his forehead against Mal's head with a smile. A glass was in her hand – some sort of alcohol. That was another thing Hades didn't like. How was she old enough to be drinking alcohol already? And getting married? And being Queen?

Mal looked away and Hades dropped his smile in favor of a scowl. He seized his own drink – something a palace attendant had brought him – and took a swig. "It's not all about you, Maleficent. And for the record, maybe you should go back to whatever hole you were hiding in."

"And miss this party?" Maleficent asked with a raised eyebrow, examining her nails. She'd been back in human form ever since Mal had brought her back to the Isle of the Lost – after all, evil magic didn't work there. "I don't think I've seen you this worked up since you left her behind."

"I didn't leave her behind," Hades snapped, drawing an end to the conversation going on behind the other couch. Belle, Beast, and the eight other villain kids who were being invited to attend plus the one Auradon girl, a dark-haired girl in a blue dress, all turned to watch Hades hold aloft a finger as he glared at Maleficent. "I left _you_ behind."

"And you left her with me, and therefore you left her behind," Maleficent hummed. "And no matter what you do or say, you have lost out on that time forever. Now she's going to be married, and you've known her for less than she's known _that boy_." She nods at Ben, whose arm loosens a little around Mal's shoulders as a frown makes her forehead crease. Belle and Beast exchange glances like they don't know what to do and Maleficent takes a sip of her drink before she continues. "I raised her. I'm the reason she's even here. He called for the daughter of Maleficent to be removed from the Isle, not the daughter of Hades. I deserve to be here."

"Do we need to separate you two?" Mal butts in, glowering a little at them both. "You haven't seen each other since before I can remember and once this is over you can go to opposite sides of the Isle and not speak to each other for an equally long time. For now, though, this is about Ben and I. Our happiness; our future; our marriage. Can't you just be civil and come talk to us for two hours before you never have to interact again? You _wanted_ to be here."

"I didn't realize you'd be inviting the deadbeat who beats the dead," Maleficent scoffed, standing up and brushing her robes off a little. "Where's that helmet of invisibility when you need it?"

"Mom," Mal stares. But Hades stands up with balled fists and hisses a little as he starts to speak.

"When you die," He begins, hair catching fire a bit as he glares at his daughter's mom, "I get your soul. And believe me, I have an eternal punishment all laid out for you."

"Could you step out please?" A new authoritative tone overtakes the room. Belle and Beast step away from their son a little as he drops his arm off of Mal's shoulders and loops her arm around his instead. "If you can't put aside bygones, we'd rather you settle them somewhere where we can't hear you."

"You know, I have a question!" Hades snapped, gesturing at the young king. "Why him? You want to get married, fine! You want to be a Queen, I'll take you to Olympus! I'm sure Zeus wouldn't object to making you a god after everything that happened. But why this family and this _boy_, after everything they did to us?"

"The Isle wasn't Ben's fault!" Mal declared, advancing to put her hand on the back of the couch that was currently separating Hades from her. "And Belle and Adam had no clue what they were doing. And in case you've forgotten, Ben is the king who's undoing everything!"

"Mal," Ben put his hand on Mal's shoulder. "Fighting isn't going to fix anything."

"Oh, do I get a speech, now?" Hades demanded. He crossed his arms and fumed.

Ben and Mal turned and examined each other with a sigh, and then Mal gave a little nod. Ben looked up at Hades and then gestured to the door. "Can you walk with me a moment?"

Jay, one of Mal's friends, choked at about the same moment that Maleficent let out a laugh. "You want to put _him_-" She stuck a thumb out at Ben, "And _him_-" She turned a finger to Hades, "In close quarters, _alone?"_

"Yeah, um…" Cruella's son took a sharp inhale, "Are you sure about this, Ben?"

"Come on, Mom," Mal nodded to the hall as well. "It's you and me."

Ben put a hand to the small of Mal's back as he guided her past him, and then watched as she waited by the door. Maleficent got up after a moment of debate and together, mother and daughter left the room. As soon as she had vanished, Ben straightened up and made a gesture to the same hall. Hades fumed for a few seconds. His daughter wasn't around. He could always send the boy to the underworld early… come up with some sort of freak accident.

"Hades," Ben called. "Come walk with me."

Everyone looked a little wary of sending the king out with the God of the Undead, but no one protested. Hades growled a little, a sound that made the former Beast rumble, and then headed for the door. King Ben held it ajar until he'd passed through, and then shut it firmly behind them with a click.

Hades felt his nostrils flare as he glared at the young boy. "Quite the show," He snarled. "Where are we going now?"

"To the left," Ben nodded down the hall. "Mal would have gone to the right because that's the quickest route to her room. The left leads to the balcony. Come on, let's go look at the stars." He walked past Hades and continued down the hall, and really, now would be a great time to attack; the young king's back was turned. But he swallowed his rage and continued down the hall. They came to a set of double doors, which Ben opened and left ajar before he approached the balcony and leaned out over the railing to see the ground below. Hades stayed in the doorway as Ben glanced all around.

"You could come up and lean against the railing with me if you like," Ben invited. Hades snarled, and the boy glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "Okay," he shrugged. "Want to talk about Mal?"

"Mal?" Hades snapped. "Mal, yes, let's talk about Mal. Let's talk about how you've known her for, what, two years?"

"Eight-hundred-and-twenty-four days," Ben nodded. "And we've been together for Eight-hundred-and-twenty-one. And tomorrow, those numbers will go up. And the day after, I get to start a new number."

"You keep track of these things?" Hades spiked an eyebrow, acting unimpressed even though he was secretly dumbfounded.

"I like numbers," Ben nodded. "Language was never a strong suit of mine. Just ask Mal. She can go on for days about how I like to make up words."

Hades let the fire in his hair dim and slowly took a half-step out. Ben cocked his head to the side, staring up at the stars. "Think Mal managed to calm your ex-wife down?"

"Can anything calm her down?" Hades scoffed. He raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Now, if you have an agenda to bringing me out here, you might as well state your case."

"I don't," Ben shook his head. "Well, I guess I figured you could use a break from Maleficent. I bet that seeing me with your daughter is probably pretty grating too. But hey, what if I was just hoping to talk and get some advice from you?"

"Advice?" Hades repeated, slowly.

Ben nodded. He set his chin on his fist and continued examining the stars. He hadn't glanced at Hades once since coming out here, but the God of the Underworld figured that that wasn't out of fear. The ghost of a smile crossed the lad's face, and then his composure lit up like a spark. "We haven't really discussed my punishment, either. You know, if things go sour and I break her heart."

"You will die a slow death," Hades declared immediately. "And I will see to it that you are put in endless torment."

Ben finally turned to meet his eyes. He shook his head. "That's not enough," He whispered. "I'd do that on any old day just for her entertainment. If I break her heart, you've got to come up with something awful."

Hades's wicked grin fell a bit slack and he examined the boy. "You don't know what you're asking," He warned with narrowed eyes. Ben only turned his head to the side. "How does rolling a stone up a mountain for the rest of eternity sound?"

"Can't be any different from fighting for her every day," Ben replied earnestly.

"I could have vultures feeding on your liver for the rest of eternity," Hades offered, a bit mystified at the way the boy was turning him down. Ben kept his intense, disapproving gaze, however.

"That still doesn't seem like enough," He whispered.

Hades quit offering. He rested his palms on the railing and looked up at the stars. Among the many heavenly lights, he could see Hercules and Pegasus and Bootes, all descendants of his brothers and Mal's cousins. "What advice did you want?" He whispered.

"What fails a marriage?" Ben asked. "You've probably seen many come and go, not to mention your own. I honestly don't see very many bad examples around me. What can I do to keep mine from failing?"

Hades considered the question. Now, rest assured that he hated this boy with every fiber of his being, but he did adore the way Mal looked with him, so he supposed he shouldn't maim or scare the boy too hard. This wasn't to say, though, that he wasn't impressed with the maturity of the question. "Every hour is about commitment." He mumbled. "And marriage is a two-way street. If she goes one way, you either buckle down and stick with her or you stick to your path. Things get rocky when you go in opposite directions. It's like… you know those games where kids tie two legs together and try to walk? You've got to commit to walking with her in order to make it somewhere."

Ben nodded along to all of his words, furrowing his brow to show his deep thinking, and Hades couldn't hold back a little smirk. Ben looked up at him, expression calm, and clasped both of his hands together. "Is there anything you want to know about her?" He whispered. "I could probably tell you a lot."

Hades was, once again, taken aback by the question. He leaned forward into the balcony, and the light in his hair extinguished completely. What did he want to know about Mal? He should know more than this boy, but he didn't, and that was a tough pill to swallow. And now the king was offering him knowledge about his own daughter. Hades clapped his own hands together, mirroring Ben, and let out a heavy sigh. "What can you tell me?" He asked.

"When we sit down to dinner, she switches the silverware around to rebel against the formal setting," Ben began. "And she hates sauces with a passion. Ketchup is her worst enemy. It's only useful for pranks. And in meetings, she's made this game of signs that she and some of her friends in the court play. They all try and flash signs at each other, but if anyone asks what's going on or catches them, the game is over. She likes the two-in-one shampoo and conditioner bottles and turns the light off to shower because it reminds her of the Isle."

Hades frowned a little as Ben turned over his thoughts. All these things he had missed… all these things that this boy knew that he didn't. It kind of stung. He folded his fingers together and rotated his thumbs around each other, and then turned to Ben. "How'd you convince your parents to let you date her?" He asked.

Ben glanced sideways with a little smile tugging at his lips. "I told them they didn't really get a say in it," He answered.

Hades laughed and then looked from the night sky to the ground below. The air, cool and comforting, was making his skin feel soft. He watched the greenery in the darkness down below. It would be so, so easy to shove him over the balcony now. Yet, somehow, it didn't seem as satisfying as it had a few minutes ago.

Maybe the boy wasn't worthy of her, but could he be the most worthy? And if Mal had chosen him… maybe he should bear with him. For her sake. After all, he'd missed eighteen years of her life. If he missed these years where she was settling into her own as queen because she decided she didn't want him around, then…

"Why did you choose her?" He asked, turning to face Ben head-on. He put on a stern, immovable face, but Ben didn't seem fazed as he glanced back over at Hades.

"Who wouldn't?" He asked.

"A hero's son?" Hades suggested, baring his teeth a little.

Ben examined him with the air of an emotion that wasn't indifference, confidence, or amusement, as he had been displaying all night long. Instead, the boy seemed a bit… disappointed. Ben stood up straight and put his hands into his pockets before letting his chin drop onto his chest as he debated what to say. "Mal is not, and never will be, a redemption story. Not to me. People like to favor me and say I was the catalyst that brought her to good. Even Mal likes to simplify it to that. But it wasn't me. It was all her. She was glorious and good and powerful and fair. Even when she was drawing lines between the Isle and Auradon, she was always a fair judge, a rightful ruler. Our story isn't the poster boy drawing the bad girl out of the darkness. It's about her choosing a path she liked and me choosing her despite everyone telling me it was a bad idea. We worked together to get where we are, and I think that's what marriage is really about. When we work together, great things happen. The harder things get, the better they turn out. I'm not marrying her so I can achieve some title of the dragon-conqueror, or so I can have an easy happily-ever-after. I'm marrying her because I want to spend the rest of my life helping her become who she's meant to be, and I hope she'll return the favor."

Hades closed his mouth. There was no arguing there. The boy's words even made him wonder what his life would be if he had stuck for Maleficent for even a little bit longer. Maybe she'd be less of a monster. Maybe he would be.

"You're going to watch after her?" He whispered in the dark.

"No, but I'll help her if she needs it," Ben replied.

"Wake up with her every single day?" Hades asked.

"Not if I'm already up and doing something for her," Ben answered.

"Not going to let her get hurt?"

"She's going to get hurt. I can't prevent that. But I'll be there to help her get better."

"If she falls?"

"I'll stand beside her and see if she needs help getting back up,"

"And when you're both old?"

"Then we'll be old together and we'll handle that like the rest of our problems – together."

"In sickness and in health?"

"Until my very last heartbeat."

The air was still. The stars were winking down at them with the same charismatic attitude that teenage boys winked at teenage girls with. Two men, with millennia, experience, and a purple-haired girl between them, stared up at the skies in silence, watching the galaxy as it unfolded out around them. Everything except the palace behind them and the surrounding city lights was dark. Out across the ocean, electric lights from the Isle of the Lost served as a cheery beacon of change.

Ben reached out and put a hand on Hades' shoulder. "I'd like to ask for your blessing," He murmured. "I would have asked before I gave her my ring if I had known who you were. I would have journeyed all the way to the Isle to try and do things the proper way. Will you grant me this, now?"

Hades stared into the king's eyes. He tried to find any reason he shouldn't, but none came to mind. The boy had worked to be Mal's companion since before he'd ever known her. That certainly counted for something. Surely, no one else could give her what he could.

"You break her heart and I'm coming for your soul," He warned.

"I'll hand it over myself," Ben whispered.

Hades snorted and brushed Ben's hand off his shoulder. "Alright," He decided. "I give you my blessing."

Ben's smile created a new light in the arena as he chuckled, looking happier than he had all night. His eyes shifted to the hall, and then he laughed. "Mal and Maleficent should be back by now," He announced. "Do you want to go in?"

Hades waved him on. "Go ahead," He snorted. "I need some time to myself before I'm trapped in close quarters with my ex-wife again."

Ben laughed again, mirth evident in his tone, and turned towards the doors. Hades turned back to the railing and lifted his head up to continue examining the stars. There was Cygnus and Andromeda and Draco…

"Thanks for the advice, dad," Ben called from the doorway. Hades remained still for a few seconds as he formulated a response, and then glanced over his shoulder a little to raise an eyebrow at the lad.

"I think you taught me more than I taught you, son," He replied.

Ben laughs again, his smile even brighter, and yeah, Hades does understand why his daughter would like this boy because, let's face it, he is a good-looking king. Then the suit-clad man turns and disappears. Hades returns to the stars. He's never actually put a constellation up before. The 'eternal glory' thing was always more attributed to Poseidon and Zeus. But, he reasons, maybe tonight's a good night to change that.

He puts his daughter into the sky, right next to the man she's chosen to love, and now he'll see her happiness every time he looks up.

Inside, the party rages on, full-force. Maleficent is silent, with rubbed raw eyes and shaking hands as she nurses a glass of white wine. Mal and her friends are laughing, celebrating, telling stories of their youths as Belle and Beast struggle to stay awake, watching from afar as the kids have fun. Ben keep his hands on Mal's shoulders and leans down to kiss her cheek every so often. Hades rejoins after he's memorized every star in the new pattern, and then comes inside to see them all talking, bonding, and shouting in excitement.

Maybe he'll show her the constellation after the wedding. It can be his immortalized tribute to her choice.

Mal turns with a smile so bright it outshines Ben's and shoves her glass into her best friend's hands before she runs to him, arms outstretched, and buries her face in his chest. Hades holds her tightly and takes a deep breath of her scent. He doesn't know this girl as well as he should. He wasn't there when he should have. But he knows her well enough to know she is strong, and her choice is good. Because she is good.

The party continues, this time with him.


	17. Westward Pt 1

Ben watched the carriage turn into the driveway, feeling expressionless. He watched the servants load his suitcases into the back and the horses fed and watered as they waited for him. This would be the carriage that would take him to the Cinderellasburg Castle, where he would be conversing with King Chad on the state of his kingdom.

Ben was twenty-seven and the High King of the country of Auradon. Underneath him were about a hundred other royals of various backgrounds who had either inherited their kingdoms or had them gifted to them in thanks for extraordinary acts of bravery. The country was beautiful – high purple mountains in Arendelle, deep blue seas in Oceania, thick forests in Sherwood and hundreds of magical places in between. Ruling at Ben's side was his queen, Audrey, whom he had known since he could walk. They'd been married seven years and had one child between them, a stubborn and often cross girl whom they had misnamed Belle Joy, after his mother.

"Is Audrey coming down?" Ben asked with a sigh, casting a glance to the side at a servant who was standing at attention nearby.

"No, your majesty," the servant declared. His hat slipped down on his forehead even more. "She's in the spa. Her back has been hurting her more. She says to come see her when you return."

Ben nodded. Audrey wouldn't want to see him when he returned, he knew. He hadn't seen her for three and a half weeks now. Little Belle sometimes came into his office to gift him flowers and demand candies, but she had a nanny and the nanny took care of her. He and Audrey didn't need to.

With a sigh, Ben stepped out from under the overpowering shadow of the castle and towards the carriage. No one was there to see him off despite the fact this was a two-week long meeting. Audrey was in her spa, Belle was probably taking a mid-afternoon nap, his mother had moved out with the death of his father and now resided in a small home where Ben took Belle to visit weekly, and there was no one there to say goodbye or tell him they'd miss him.

"Let's go," The king nodded to the driver of the carriage. A few shouts rang out – orders for servants and directions for others, and the carriage began to move as Ben was sitting down. He fell into his seat, hitting his elbow against the side of the door, and rubbed it slowly as the noise diminished and the castle disappeared.

Ben rested his head against the frame of the carriage and winced when they went over a rock and he knocked his skull into the wood. It was going to be one of those journeys. One where he went over all the decisions he'd made and reminisced over his life and wondered how things could be different.

Auradon was one of the center-most kingdoms. Charmington was closer to the sea and had a large dock, which was used to export goods to the outermost province of the Isle of the Lost. The two were separated by a very large and thick forest known as the Seeoderschwarz. About 250,000 square miles of nothing but forest and forest and the occasional stream or river and more forest. It was teeming with natural resources, he was told, and the majority of the land was owned by the Charmington Forest Service and the Charmington Logging industry, which made for pleasant interactions. Ben supposed that King Chad had been dealing with land disputes between the two for as long as he had been trying to get Weselton and Arendelle to get along.

Ben got a glimpse of the ocean before the road took them into the heart of the forest. For several dozen miles, the roads remained nice, but they soon began to rumble and clatter down a thin, unpaved, barely-cleared road. Ben watched mile markers give way to large boulders, fallen tree limbs, and wild plants. He ought to petition Chad to improve all the roads, but knew that his old friend was busy with other things.

The sun remained high in the sky for what seemed like several years before it suddenly jumped to the horizon and the trees began to cast thick shadows around them. Ben supposed he must have dozed off as the armed escorts and the driver lit up their lanterns. He pulled a thicker jacket out of his travel bag to wrap around himself as the cold spring air started to nip at his fingers and ears. Winter had just ended, but the nights were still frigid.

The sky grew so dark that the trees blended into the atmosphere. Ben couldn't see any stars past the lanterns and the roof of the carriage, but he supposed they were up there somewhere. He tried to curl up into his seat, but every bump knocked his back a little more out of joint and every shout from outside kept him feeling like he was supposed to be awake – supposed to be doing something important.

What was he supposed to be doing?

They continued on, switching drivers once at half-past midnight. No one checked in on him. That was fine – he'd been on long journeys before. Three minutes before three a.m, they rolled to a stop. Ben startled out of a daze. He'd been tracing the wood grains in the beams with his eyes, and now struggled to see in the dark as hushed whispers came from outside. He tried to listen but couldn't hear much. Slowly, he reached for the carriage door, expecting them to jump into motion at any second. His hand twisted the latch. The carriage made no motion. He opened the door and leaned out. "Why have we stopped?" He asked a soldier, who was staring ahead in shock and confusion. He didn't answer.

Ben followed his gaze. Everyone's eyes were focused ahead on a green orb swinging in the middle of the road. Like some sort of haunted ghost. Ben felt his eyes falling out of focus as he watched, but he was used enough to it that he was able to rip his eyes away to step down, out of the carriage, and onto the ground. "Who goes there?" He asked loudly, without hostility. "Are you in need of help?"

The light came closer. It's presence was overpowering. The urge to look and to fall into a deep, deep sleep was almost irresistible. Ben put a hand up to block the light and spotted someone behind it, swinging it in a dizzying pattern. They had a cloak on – or possibly a cape – and wore slim, tight fitting boots. Either it was a girl, or a man with very slim, feminine ankles.

Then, a voice, as overpowering and alluring as the light, which penetrated every particle of him, straight to the bone. "Why have you brought soldiers in our midst?"

A girl, he thought vaguely. Definitely a girl, but a powerful one. He could _feel_ her authority.

"They are here to protect me," Ben explained calmly. "We're not here to hurt you."

It occurred to him too late that perhaps he shouldn't have insinuated he was anyone important. In the dark, his identity was mostly concealed. With great trepidation, he swallowed and asked: "Will you allow us to pass?"

The light stopped swaying and its wielder held it closer to the side of the carriage. Ben swallowed as he recognized the Auradon crest on the side of the craft. "You are from the high kingdom?" She asked slowly, cautiously.

Ben swallowed. "Yes," He affirmed.

He could barely see the woman behind the light, and it became much harder as all of the lanterns in the company – all the ones that had been held by the driver and the guards – turned green. "Take them," The woman ordered, and then her light disappeared. The driver and the escorts came back to life, gasping for breath, and several loud battle cries echoed from the forest. Sturdy arrows the length of his arm with ropes attached to them flew through the air, going through the roof of the carriage and splintering the wheels. The horses reared up almost as one as figures with black, green, and purple torches rushed through the trees.

"We're under attack!" One of the horsemen yelled. "Barbarians! Yield!"

"Don't hurt them!" Ben struggled to be heard over the whinnying of the horses. He reached out and caught the reins of one and pulled them back down to ground level as he tried to calm the frightened creature. "I think they're only frightened of the weapons! If we throw them down-"

"You'll have us all be murdered?" The man bellowed, wrenching his reigns away from Ben and shoving him back. "Get down and take cover! We already have a soft man on the throne – we don't need one on the battlefield as well!"

Ben fell to the ground, and the soft dirt gave way under his frame. The officer had, it seemed, not recognized him in the dark with his coat covering his jacket. "Wait!" He yelled as the men spurred their horses to action and they began to hurry away. The carriage, with one broken rim and at least five broken spokes, more than tripled its previous pace as it took off into the night. The horsemen followed it. Ben spotted a horse's hoof coming down on him from above and rolled to keep his skull intact. He crouched, face down, into the dirt as horse hooves plundered the ground around him. A scary vision of a hoof severing the connection from his head to his neck made every hair stand on end as he gasped, shaking.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. Chances were, if Ben had stayed inside the carriage, he'd be safely away with them. As it was, he was afraid to even move as shouts echoed through the forest and then fell to whispers around the road. What were the chances they wouldn't spot him; that he'd be left to wait for his caravan to realize he'd been left and return to retrieve him?

Hands seized his shoulders and yanked him up, keeping his knees pressed into the mud. He gasped at the same bright green light was shoved into his eyes, blinding him from the people holding him captive. "Who is he?" The woman holding the light asked.

"Can't tell," A smooth, male's voice replied. "He's unarmed."

"I don't mean any harm," Ben gasped, closing his eyes as the bright light made his brain feel like it was pulsating inside his skull. "We were just passing through the area."

"Heading to where?" The female demanded.

"Cinderellasburg," Ben provided.

"Where?" The woman asked.

Ben paused and opened an eye to see if he could see her. "It's… King Chad's kingdom?" He asked. "I'm supposed to meet with him tomorrow afternoon."

"He's important," The woman decided. A little fear had crept into her tone. "He was traveling with a guard to meet someone."

"Who are you?" Another man – one with a little bark who was tightly gripping his left arm – demanded.

"I-" Ben faltered. "I'm… just a representative from the High Kingdom."

"He's lying," The first man accused. "He paused!"

There was a long silence. Ben tried to slow his breathing as he waited for his own verdict.

"We'll take him to E. She'll make a decision," The woman declared.

Ben's eyes flew open. "Wait!" He gasped. "I'm being expected! And the carriage will come back for me. Let them come back and I'll convince them to let you walk free!"

The first man laughed. "We can't trust him, can we?" He asked.

"No," The woman agreed. "Tie him up, and we'll take him back to camp."

A blindfold was whipped across his eyes and his head was wrenched back. Ben tried to call out, but before the blindfold had even been fastened, a gag was tied across his mouth and a thin rope was strung around his wrists several hundred times, so they were biting into his wrists. He was forced to his feet and the three began to lead him away, though he could hear first the footsteps and then the heavy breathing of many others around him.

"Who is he?" He heard someone whisper.

"Someone important," The woman whispered back. "We're taking him to Evie."

Evie. He was going to be judged by a girl named Evie. A leader? What sort of leader might a band of… outlaws? Misfits? Castaways? He wasn't sure what to call them. But what sort of leader could they possibly have?

Ben tripped over tree roots as he tried to keep pace with the two men leading him. Behind him, he heard shouts and distant 'Find him!'s. The carriage had returned too late.

They marched for about an hour, and then the leader called a pause. "We're going too slow," She decided. "Take the blindfold off of him, and cover your faces. We'll move faster if he can walk straight."

The blindfold was removed off of her command, but everyone was already covered. Ben's head swiveled to examine his surroundings. They were in the middle of the forest, hidden in the thick underbrush, and there were about twenty people in number. Two held onto his arms, and others surrounded them, armed with knives in case he tried to run. The person on his left, who had spoken with the bark, had bright blue eyes, and light hair and skin. The person on his right, with the smooth voice, had more ethnic skin that reminded him of Aziz, from Agrabah, and long brown hair poking out from under a cap. Black, beetle-like eyes caught the light of the stars as they examined his face, which was still covered with mud and dirt.

Up ahead, he caught a rush of long, thick hair as the woman who he assumed had been the one to previously hold the light turned away from him. He could see, in the light of the stars, that her hair had an odd quality to it. Something that looked very, very different from the others. "Let's go," She commanded, and the group continued on.

The uneven forest floor was more compatible with his feet now that he could see where the roots, rocks, and uneven spots were. The fresh night air brought a soft of calmness to his bones despite the tense situation. And holy heavens – he had never even known this many stars existed. He had to rip his eyes away from the vast, glittering expanse above in order to keep from tripping. There was no moon to outshine the pinpricks of light as he stared, dumbfounded, at the constellations and beautiful clouds of heavenly fog.

Hours later, as the sun began to light the sky, Ben heard yelling, and then saw smoke rising into the sky. They walked into a camp, and his mouth dropped at what he saw. Hundreds of people – not one older than he was – were living in the center of the forest. He could see hammocks strung up and small lean-to's and two or three half-made teepees. They weren't of the greatest construction, but had clearly been here for several weeks, if not months.

Ben was led to the largest teepee by his two captors. The other group broke away as they took him inside, forced him to his knees in the center, by the supporting pole, and tied his hands and ankles together around it. "Try and get some sleep!" The smooth-talking one snapped. "E will be in soon to question you." Ben didn't fail to notice how they'd positioned his back facing the entrance, so that he'd never be able to see who came in.

"Could I have some water, please?" Ben requested. His throat had started to become a little dry as they had walked, though the night air hadn't made it too bad. Now that he was sitting though, he was feeling a little light-headed.

The two snorted. "Ask E," The man with the bark in his tone replied. He spoke a bit childishly, as if he hadn't quite wrapped his head around what they were doing yet. "She's the compassionate one of the three." There was the sound of someone hitting someone else, and Ben realized that the reason they were trying to be secretive about the camp is, because, if he was someone important, he would know who to prosecute. He decided it would be wise to pretend he'd never heard the name 'Evie'.

The teepee flap closed, which was unfortunate because it blocked out most of the sounds from camp outside. He shifted against the frost on the ground, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes to fall into a restless sleep.

* * *

He woke because he realized someone was watching him. Slowly, he levels his head and tries to wipe his chin on his shoulder in case there's any drool on the corners of his mouth. Then, he glances cautiously at the peripherals of his vision and spots the same dark haired, black-eyed man who escorted him here. His face is still covered, but in the light coming from the top, he can tell that the man has tan, olive skin. He's pretty sure that he isn't the only person in the room, though.

"He's awake," A woman says behind him – someone new with a bit of an edge in her tone. The way she says her 'E's is hard.

Ben swallows. "Sorry," He apologizes, shifting his weight a little to try and work some of the stiffness out of his limbs. "Uh, are you E?"

"No, I am," A third woman different from the first two he's interacted with speaks up. Her voice is clear, refined, like she's been raised royalty. "And you are?"

"I'm, uh," Ben stuttered, unsure if he should tell them his name. "I'm a traveler. I was headed to Cinderellasburg."

He could hear footsteps approaching him from behind. The way they step – they're wearing high heels. He'd been with Audrey enough to hear the difference. They crouched down and he could see someone wearing deep blue examining him out of the corner of his eye. "And what is your name?" She asked.

"What's yours?" Ben countered back. In response, he heard someone close to the door draw a blade. "Ben. My name is Ben."

E hummed. "I'm Evie."

He heard a scoff from the front of the teepee. "Why'd you give him your real name? He'll rat you out now." It was the first woman; the one with the light.

"I don't think so," Evie replied. "And besides, he could have just said that he was captured by a woman named E."

"I'm the one who captured him, Evie. They'll come for me first," The light woman declared.

Ben swallowed. "Listen, I'm not going to send anyone after you. Honest. But, I am a bit curious, why are you hiding out in the forest and attacking travelers?"

"We don't attack travelers," Evie declared. "We only got a little concerned when we heard that there were soldiers marching through. You must be someone important for you to be so well protected."

Ben chuckled nervously. "Not especially - I'm only a representative."

"You're lying," Evie declared. "Be careful. M has been lusting after some blood." By the doorway, the woman who had first stopped his party stepped forward. He listened to her criss the teepee, and then felt the cold steel of a blade press against his cheek. M. She was called M. And the last woman, the one with the hard E's, he didn't have a name for. This must be the three.

Ben let out a slow breath. "I, uh, what keeps me alive the longest, then?"

"The truth," Evie replied simply. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm Ben," Ben confirmed with another deep breath. "I'm traveling to Cinderellasburg for a meeting. I'm from the high palace."

He felt Evie pause behind him, and then a manicured hand landed on his shoulder. He could see many large and beautiful rings, and dark blue nail polish. "The high palace?" Evie asked. Her mouth was closer to his ear now. "What is your title?"

Ben twisted his hands to keep them from shaking. "I, uh," he swallowed and decided to bite the bullet. "The, uh, King. I'm King Benjamin."

Evie's hand jumped off of him and he felt M withdraw the knife. "Oh my," Evie gasped in horror. "Oh, we're doomed. We're so doomed."

"I'm sorry!" M gasped. "I had no idea who he was!"

"Wait, wait!" Ben laughed uneasily. "I'm not going to, like, send the army after you. I'm just… who are you and why are you hiding in the forest? I want to help you – not hurt you."

There was silence in the room. Ben heard the shifting of weight and felt more than a few confused glances. Then, he heard footsteps and a breathtaking woman stepped into his field of vision with a frown plastered across her face. She was tall with extra height from her high heels, adorned with shiny and sparkly accessories, but still looked absolutely deadly. Her long, blue hair spilled over her shoulders like some sort of tinted waterfall and her eyes were browner than any expensive chocolate or polished wood he'd ever seen. He felt his breath catch in his throat but quickly got himself back together as he continued examining her.

Her clothes had many different pieces of fabric stitched together and pieced into a array of blue, black, and grey. It was striking, but Ben immediately came up with a theory – they didn't have access to much in terms of quantity, so they used the best parts of everything.

Evie sat down on the ground and examined him. "We're refugees," She explained patiently. "We're fleeing oppression."

"Oppression from who?" Ben demanded. "Tell me the name and I'll do everything I can to fix it." He'd never been able to do more than placate people and fill out paperwork – if he could use his title to do _something_ good, then-"

"Oppression from you," Evie explained patiently.

Ben's mouth fell open. He stared at her, trying to figure out what on earth she was saying. From him?

Across the area, the person currently acting as a guard dropped his face covering. He had a long, angular face. Ben skimmed him a little more in his shock and caught something odd – he had a design painted on the scarf he'd used to cover his face. It looked like a genie with words across it. He couldn't read it from that far away, however.

Evie brushed her leg off. She was wearing leggings, so it wasn't at all indecent, but the motion still brought Ben's gaze back to her. She'd brushed off a similar patch with the outline of a woman wearing a crown with her head covered. Across the woman's arms were the words "Long Live Evil."

"Villains," Ben whispered, and everyone in the room tensed. He could feel M getting her knife ready from beside him. "You… support the villains? Is that what this is? You don't seem like you're like them – if I suppressed you for that-"

"We're not villains," The woman with the hard E's sighed. She, too, stepped into view. She was an ethnic woman with dark skin and beautiful plaited braids on top of her head that led down into elegant curls. A sword was strung at her hip. Ben wondered how these people could look so well-put-together in the forest. Her outfit had shells and what looked like seaweed décor sewn into it. Ben searched her for a similar 'Long Live Evil' patch, but couldn't find anything. She did, however, have a little teal blue octopus on her leg.

"If you aren't villains, then who are you?" Ben furrowed his brow.

"We, uh, carry on the heritage," The man on the edge of the teepee spoke up. He held up the little badge which, it could now be confirmed, was a genie.

A genie, a queen, and an octopus. Ben swallowed. "So, uh, Evie? Is that for the, uh, Evil Queen?"

Evie pinched her lips together and nodded with a frown. Ben nodded to the dark-skinned man. "And, uh Jafar. And Ursula?" He swallowed. And then the woman behind him – M – she would have to be…

Well, he had a lot of villains memorized, and a couple of them started with the letter M. Macbeth, Medusa, Madame Mim… she could be the daughter of Marina, Ursula's sister. However, it was the bright green fire from last night – the fire that was still dancing in front of his eyes and making the world seem a little hazy – that gave away her identity.

"And Maleficent?" He asked.

Evie's eyebrow spiked upwards in an attractive arch. If he could have someone build a bridge with the same perfect arch as that brow, it'd become a country landmark. She glanced behind him with a tiny smile pulling at her lips. "You brought back a smart one," She hummed. Ben blushed a little at her pride.

M snorted, and Ben's hair rose up on end. She sounded like she was exhaling fire and he could swear he could smell smoke. These weren't ordinary people – he was dealing with, he assumed, a skilled chemist with a royal exterior, a mage of waters, a dragon-shapeshiftee, and possibly someone with genie powers despite the fact the olive-skinned man seemed to rely much more on his muscles than on magic.

"Let's talk about this," Ben exhaled, shifting his weight a little. "Also, is there any chance I could stretch my legs out? You can keep me tied up, but can I at least stand up so I can get rid of these cramps?"

Evie spiked the other eyebrow, considered, and then nodded behind the pole to M. Ben felt someone take hold of his wrist. Her hand was soft and smooth and made his breath catch. He was surrounded by beautiful people. M sliced through all of the cords binding his feet and Ben carefully moved his legs out from under him and stretched out his limbs. His legs were stiff and tingly as he tensed and relaxed the muscles with a grimace. "Thank you," He exhaled, tilting his head back in the direction of M. He couldn't see her and guessed she didn't want to be seen just yet. That was fine – he wasn't sure he could stand having four flawless people examining him while he was covered in dirt and dried mud.

"So, you're the children of the villains," Ben exhaled, closing his eyes as he tried to wrap his head around that idea. "So… you come from the Isle of the Lost? How did you escape?"

Evie tilted her head and squinted with a tiny smile. "We have our methods," She said simply. "Your barrier is still intact. And we left all our parents to rot."

Ben felt a frown growing on his face as he turned his eyes downcast. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?" He sighed.

The olive-skinned man furrowed his brow. "Since when do heroes care about villains?" He asked.

"Since when am I a hero?" Ben muttered miserably. "I've been king since I was sixteen and I've never actually been able to do anything for anyone."

Evie turned to examine Ursula's daughter with a little amusement in her eyes. The daughter of the sea witch looked a little guarded, but it was clear his words had enchanted her. "You could have done something for us," She suggested. "That island is a prison, thanks to your father. No one _deserves that."_

"Yet you left your parents there," Ben mumbled. Ursula's daughter blinked in surprise and fell silent. Ben continued shaking his head. Every one of her words felt like M had decided to slit his skin with her knife. Ben closed his eyes in pain. "I wish I'd thought of it," he mourned. "I was so concerned with Auradon. Spoiled, selfish, needy Auradon. I should have… I should have thought of you guys." He scuffed the base of his boot in the ground with closed eyes. "I'm a pretty lousy excuse for a king. Is it… is it too late to help you now?"

"We don't need your help," M scoffed behind him. Her voice was like grinding nails.

"Wait," Evie held up a hand. "We… want to have our own place. Here." She gestured to their surroundings, and Ben realized she was referring to the forest area. "You're the King – couldn't you make it so we can live without anyone… hunting us?"

Ursula's daughter and Jafar's son leaned forward in interest. Ben blinked. Could he do that?

He was King; couldn't he do anything?

But this was Chad's kingdom; his inheritance.

"I have a proposal," He declared, straightening up. "I can't – or won't – give you this land because it already belongs to Chad's Kingdom. I don't want to rip away his inheritance. But, further west and past his kingdom and Arendelle, there are some inhabited lands that belong to me. It's part of what I inherited when I took over the kingdom. You can't stay here in Chad's kingdom, but if you move out there then I'll give you your own lands."

"We've already come this far," Ursula's daughter protested. "Our people are tired. We can't walk past another two kingdoms." She looked at Evie. "Can we?"

Evie's eyes were bright. "Why not?" She asked. "We wouldn't have to hide, and if the king sanctions it, it's ours. People might be angry when they find out, but we can defend ourselves well enough. We can elect leaders and have beautiful buildings and pretty things and… a place. A place for us."

"I'll help protect you too," Ben offered, sitting up a little straighter. Gosh, it felt great to have a purpose. "Auradon City has its own army, and I can command other armies if needed. If anyone attacks you, they'll be attacking the high palace. Treason."

Ursula's daughter looked a bit suspicious. "We're not gonna hold you to your word on that," She scoffed. "It's not like the palace has done much for us so far."

She was right, but Ben was determined to prove her wrong. "I'll prove myself," He declared. "I'll help take you guys there personally, and I'll help wherever you need help."

Jafar's son began to laugh hard. "You?" He snorted. "You're not coming untied."

Oh, right, there was still that.

Evie frowned, suddenly looking doubtful. "How do we know you're not just telling us all of these things to get us to let you go? That you won't betray us as soon as we let you help us?"

Ben's shoulders slumped. "I guess… you'll have to leave me tied up then," he decided. "Until I can think of a good way to prove myself."

Ursula's daughter spiked an eyebrow. "He's willing to stay tied up?" She asked.

Evie squinted at him like she was trying to see through him. "Let him go, M," She declared.

"What?" M squawked behind him. "No – we can't trust him!"

"No, we can," Evie nodded. "And anyway, I bet Jay could outrun him."

"I don't know the way back," Ben offered. "And, uh, M, you have magic, yeah? If you know a spell, I'd be willing to submit to that."

Ursula's daughter let a little smile spread across her mouth. "Huh," She hummed. "Humble."

His words had apparently placated M. He felt her cool, smooth hands take his again, part his wrists, and slit all the bindings. Ben pulled his wrists in front of him and rubbed them. They were rubbed raw and had dozens of purple lines across them. He exhaled, leaned back against the pole, and let his eyes flick between the three people who had shown themselves. "Do you, uh, still not want me to know what you look like? It's okay if you're not comfortable."

"Huh, he's also a gentleman," Ursula's daughter hummed. "How refreshing."

"He's certainly not lacking…" Evie hummed, letting her eyes trace over Ben's frame. His mouth went a little dry.

A scoff came from behind Ben. "Don't fall too hard, ladies. You might forget which way is up."

"Better to forget up than down," Ben reasoned. "You can keep stepping forward so long as you don't accidentally step back."

Ursula's daughter gave him a little sort of half smile and then held her hand out. Ben took it, and she helped him to his feet. "Uma," she introduced herself. "Jay is the djinni to your left, and Mal is the sneaky little witch behind you."

"Hey!" Mal snapped. "I didn't give you permission to give him my name?"

"It ain't your full name!" Uma snapped back. "What, you gonna let him call you 'M' for eternities?"

"Yes!" Mal insisted.

"Mal," Ben repeated, pausing their argument. "Short for Maleficent?"

He could suddenly _feel _Mal fuming behind him as Jay chuckled. Evie rolled her eyes. "Okay guys, let's stop this." She looked up at Ben. "Do you know how far the lands are? Or even what direction?"

"I know they're past Chad's kingdom," Ben rubbed his hands together. "However, I must admit that I am very turned around after marching around in the dark. But if you have a map or something, I could plot out the place for you?"

"We don't," Uma shook her head. "We've been here for about a month, trying to keep everyone together and avoid Auradon."

"I've got to hand it to you – I don't think anyone suspected a thing," Ben shrugged. "I didn't even know that the barrier had been, uh, opened?" He folded his arms. "Well, if you know where Chad's Kingdom is, and the road is relatively straight through the forest, then just draw a direct line from the trail to the castle and walk straight past it and keep going. To the West."

"We know that there's a castle," Evie informed him, "But we've been moving away from it. We could send someone out to find it, but we didn't want to interact with them."

"So, you don't have a map, and you don't know where things are around here?" Ben sighed, shoulders slumping. "I don't expect you to trust me with knowledge of where we are exactly, but I have one last proposal. If you have a compass, or even a needle, some paper and water, and a magnet, then I can find the direction for you that way."

"A needle, paper and water, and a magnet," Mal repeated behind him in a drawl. The urge to turn around and see her was almost overwhelming. "What, are we gonna make a fridge magnet?"

"Get Carlos," Evie requested, nodding to Jay. "He can help us out."

"We'll bring the stuff," Jay nodded as he leaped to his feet and rushed to the door. Ben felt a rush of warmer air and heard a jumble of voices before the flap closed again and all was quiet.

"What are we gonna do with him once we know the direction?" Uma asked, examining Ben's face. "I mean, he's gotta go back to his kingdom, right?"

"I can probably stay away for a little while?" Ben offered with a shrug. After all, it wasn't likely that Audrey would notice he was gone for many weeks. Paperwork would just have to wait.

Actually, the idea of leaving all that behind sounded rather nice.

Evie furrowed her brow at him. "Well… I don't know. We're already committing national treason by kidnapping him. I say… he takes us there, and then we make sure he gets back to his palace safely. Is that okay with you, Ben?"

"You won't need me," Ben assured her. "I'll teach your Carlos how to build the compass. He can guide you."

"It'd probably be best for you to tell us when to stop," Mal drawled. "To make sure we're off of everyone's property."

"Ah," Ben nodded. "Okay, yeah, I'll take you all there." He folded his arms awkwardly and then held his hand out to Evie to shake. She did so with a smile and a nod. Uma, too, stepped forward to receive a handshake before Ben exhaled. He had a feeling Mal wouldn't let him anywhere near him. "Thank you all for your hospitality," He bid them.

Uma snorted. "We captured the King of Auradon from his carriage, hiked him through the woods blindfolded, and tied him to a pole."

"And then trusted me enough to let me help out a little," Ben replied.

The teepee flap opened and Ben had to resist turning around as Jay reappeared with another boy in tow. He had on a thick red, black, and white jacket, long white and black hair, and shorts. Ben supposed that this was Carlos.

Carlos opened his hands and procured everything Ben had asked for – down to a sealed bottle of water. Ben smiled and reached out for the needle and the magnet. He rubbed the needle against the magnet – one end with one side and the other with the flip side – as everyone watched and then poked it through a mostly clean sliver of paper. He opened the water bottle and discovered it was filled to the brim – which was good for his purposes. Ben dropped the needle in, and the paper kept it afloat. Everyone watched the needle spin around to point towards where Uma was standing. Ben smiled. "That's north," He declared, pointing towards it. "The pointy end points north. No matter where you go, it will always point north. You may have to remagnetize the needle or switch the paper, but this is north. Here, walk around. Spin in a circle. It's always going to be north."

He handed the bottle to Carlos, who took a step forward and then a step back before he turned in a little circle and let out a little laugh. Evie, Uma, and Jay all leaned in. Evie looked entranced, Uma impressed, and Jay confused. Ben wondered how Mal had reacted to his meager survival skill. This was, technically, an elementary project, but it was helpful.

"How does it work?" Evie asked, astonished. "How does it know?"

"Well, the world is a big magnet," Ben explained. "So, like this tiny magnet will stick to a fridge, the needle is attracted to the ground. It lines up."

"Woah," Evie mumbled and looked up at him through her long, blue lashes as if he was the most extraordinary person on this side of the planet.

"I don't get it," Jay declared. "Don't magnets also push away?"

"Yes, there's a north and a south end," Ben affirmed. "That's why I had to rub the needle in a specific way. One side pushes away from the north and the other pushes towards it. That's what makes it straight. They're attracted to each other." He clapped his hands together. "So, knowing that that is north, the opposite - that way – is south. And if we go in a little circle with our "Never Enter Santa's Workshop" acronym, then that's east and the way we need to go is-" He paused, coughed a little, and gestured to the door flap. "Through Mal."

"Never enter Santa's workshop?" Mal asked in a drawl. Amusement overshadowed her tone. "What kind of goody-two-shoes are you?"

Ben shrugged as a deep blush crept into his neck and ears. "Well, you can also say 'Never eat soggy waffles' or 'Never eat Sour Worms', or 'Naughty Elephants squirt water.'"

"Ugh," Jay blanched. "I _hate _soggy waffles. Definitely a perk of leaving the Isle. Sour worms though… it depends on where they come from."

Ben paused and then turned to stare at Jay. "Are you talking about… gummy worms or real worms?"

"Gummy worms?" Jay repeated, confused. Ben felt his stomach turn.

"I have one!" Uma declared. "North, East, South, West. Never entertain sexy women."

Jay burst into laugher and Ben felt his blush grow a little deeper as he nodded. "I suppose I'm making a grievous mistake then," He mumbled. At his words, everyone began to laugh. Even Mal let out a guffaw behind him, which made Ben a little prouder than he should have been.

Jay, Evie, and Carlos began to talk excitedly, coming up with different variations to his acronym and switching the paper out so they could continue to watch the magnetic needle spin. Uma watched them with an air of satisfied indifference. Ben rubbed his still-sore wrists and watched them exchange excitement as they took turns picking up the water bottle and spinning in tiny, careful circles to see it point north.

Something blindingly purple appeared in the corner of Ben's vision before a woman with long, lush violet hair appeared and stepped towards them. Ben's mouth fell open with a pop and he let out a little gasping sound like he was about to start choking on something. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Uma all turned to see what the matter was as Mal leaned over to take the water bottle for herself.

She was beautiful. More than beautiful. She was so lovely he wanted to get back on his knees in her presence. Grey eyes with little sunspots and black lashes. Her skin was paper-white with little hints of color blooming on top of her cheekbones and across her nose. She was short, delicate, but strong. Ben stared in amazement at the pink color of her mouth and the perfect pout her lips took up before Jay snorted and shook his head. He tore his eyes away, red clouding into his face. "Sorry," He apologized. "I just… realized I really am the ugliest person here."

There was more laughter at his self-depreciation, but he could feel everyone's eyes – Mal's eyes, especially – on him. "You don't look half-bad," Evie replied. "A bit dirty, but there's nothing some water can't fix."

Mal hummed as she turned slowly, examining the needle, and then pulled the tiny craft out so she could take a swig. Ben watched a little trickle run down her chin before she wiped it away and then extended it to him as, he assumed, a peace offering. "Here," She directed. "You asked for water earlier."

He took it, careful to avoid her hands, knowing he'd drop the container now that he knew what ethereal creature that soft skin belonged to. He avoided her gaze as he raised the container to his lips and sipped slowly. He couldn't risk embarrassing himself in front of everyone – in front of her – with any horrible manners.

It occurred to him that he, a married man with a daughter and wife at home, had agreed to basically abandon his country and march across two kingdoms to help three extremely beautiful women resettle their people outside of Auradon. He'd thought Evie and Uma were beautiful(Evie especially, well-kept and gentle as she appeared), but that was before he'd seen Mal. Not that there was anything particularly empowering about Mal – Evie was the one with the bling, the perfectly-kept hair, everything. Ben had a feeling that the two other boys would consider Evie and Uma far more beautiful above Dangerous Mal, but something about her had him feeling for balance and brushing his dirty shirt off.

Mal squinted suspiciously at him as he handed Carlos his water bottle back and he tried to keep a clear head as tiny lines appeared around her eyes. They left little lines around her lashes because her face had a thin, even layer of dust across it that rubbed off when she furrowed her gaze. Her hair was mostly brushed but had little knots here and there from the time she'd spent stopping his carriage and hiking around in the woods last night. Which reminded him…

"Uh, I – ahem – Mal?" He coughed and then cleared his throat. "I said I would submit to a spell if you had one. Something to ensure to you I won't run, or that I'm not lying? I still hold by that."

Mal's gaze immediately flicked over to Evie and Uma. "I think it could be needed," She drawled. "But my comrades seem to have decided you are the most trustworthy person on the planet despite the fact they've known you less than an hour."

"He has that honest look in his eyes," Evie hummed, though she was avoiding Ben's gaze entirely.

"That's how people are cheated, Evie," Mal reprimanded. "That's how my mother made it onto the Isle of the Lost – because she thought she could trust Stefan And they knew each other a lot longer than thirty minutes."

Ben frowned. "Pardon?" He asked. "What are you talking about?"

Mal glared at him, and he held up his hands even as his knees shook. Evie sighed. "Go on, then, Mal. Nothing that will hurt him." She kept her gaze far from Ben as she said this. Uma and Carlos, too, were examining other areas of the tent. Carlos had recreated the magnetic compass in the shallowed canteen and was watching the magnet stay aligned to the north and south.

Ben immediately hit his knees in front of Mal, which wasn't exactly hard as her presence was still intoxicating, and bowed his head as some sort of odd gesture that he really was willing to go through with this.

A green light filled the tent. A few slim fingers appeared in his field of vision, dragged his head up until he had met her eyes, and then she held a flat hand up as if she were about to give him a high-five. It was an oath, he realized. She was demanding an oath.

He held his right hand – the hand of authority – up and took a little breath to prepare himself. "Do you, King Benjamin-"

"Florian," Ben interrupted. His face erupted into red as he admitted this, but he had a feeling she'd need his full name for the spell. "My full name is Benjamin Florian. You can add on the King of Auradon if you want."

Uma laughed. "Florian?" She gasped. "I thought you people were supposed to be good to your children. Were your parents high?"

Ben ducked his shoulders a little and heard Mal snort. "Still not as bad as mine," She declared shortly and then cleared her throat. "Do you, King Benjamin Florian of Auradon, swear that everything you have told us thus far is true and right to the best of your knowledge?"

"I do," Ben affirmed, daring to meet her eyes. Where they had been grey, they were now bright green. He couldn't find any little golden flakes in that swirling forest of magic.

"And will you accompany us westward without attempting to sabotage, mislead, or harm us?" Mal demanded.

"Or even think unkindly to you," Ben added. At this, Mal's face twisted in confusion and she appeared to lose her train of thought.

"And, uh," She stammered, blinking a little. "Will you ensure our safety in our solitude to the best of your abilities when this matter is over, regardless of the terms on which we part?"

"I will," Ben nodded. And then, before the spell could be broken, he began to speak again. "And will you, daughter of Maleficent, promise to me that I can trust you to neither attack nor harass my other people so long as I protect you from them?"

Mal looked shocked at the audacity of his request. She glanced away from him, towards Evie and Uma, and then her face stiffened. "We will neither attack nor harass them, but if they come through your defenses to war, we will rise to defend ourselves."

Ben nodded – this was acceptable to him. "And, will you, when the time comes, allow me to depart when the time comes for me to leave? In other words, can you ensure that I will not forever be your prisoner?"

"I swear it," Mal replied nonchalantly, though a heavy weight fell on the room. A promise made by someone of fae blood was binding. Mal would keep that promise on the price of her own life.

The magic faded and Ben let his hand drop before he got back to his feet, brushing his knees off. Mal, Jay, and Carlos were looking at him curiously, though Evie and Uma had appeared to accept his nature. Mal crossed her arms. "What gave you the thought to demand things of me?" She demanded. Her grey eyes still held hints of green as she glared.

"When did I demand anything?" Ben asked. "I asked if you would promise me. You could have very well have said no, though that would have hurt me greatly."

Mal squinted at him like he was a puzzle and she couldn't tell what he was supposed to be, much less which pieces to begin pushing together. Ben supposed she'd never met a person with good intentions in her life before he.

He closed his eyes and wrenched his gaze away from hers. It wouldn't do to stare so much after the embarrassing reaction he'd had upon seeing her for the first time. He had no idea if Mal was married, promised, tied to another or even committed to a past love, but he couldn't risk leading her on. "Now, I must admit that I am exhausted," He announced, leaning against the pole. "I assume that you have word to spread and plans to make – would you like me to be there? Or is there a chance I could rest for an hour or so more?"

"We won't be leaving anything soon," Uma declared, straightening up. "We're a little low on resources. Give me two more days and I can have enough to take everyone past the first kingdom."

"If I take a group out now, we might be able to catch something in time for your teams to prepare it for the journey," Mal offered.

"I'll tell things to everyone and Carlos can help me arrange people into groups again like we did when we were crossing the water," Evie nodded amicably. "We'll move faster that way."

"Where can I help?" Ben asked, pulling off his coat and rolling up the sleeves of his blue button-up shirt. "I admit I don't have much experience, but I can help with heavy lifting or cooking or organizing-"

"You can cook?" Uma interrupted, staring at him skeptically. "You look like you wouldn't know a ladle from a spoon."

Ben frowned at her. "I actually quite enjoy it," He whispered. "It's a skill I always have possessed."

Uma snorted. "Did you quote my mom on purpose, or did it slip you that that was one of her lines?"

Ben blinked. "I'd forgotten," He mumbled and shoved his hands into his pockets. "But please, don't make me sit around and play prisoner. I want to help. Give me a job, work, a purpose. _Please."_

Evie and Uma exchanged looks and Uma nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "When the time comes, we'll have you help load and carry things. And I will take you up on that cooking thing you mentioned. But not now, Beasty Boy. You were up all night, remember?"

"Uma's right," Evie agreed. "Besides, word hasn't gotten out about you yet. It'll be easier to convince the others if they don't have you in _that_ shirt behind me."

Ben frowned and picked at his shirt. "What's wrong with this shirt?" He asked.

"The Auradon crest, idiot," Jay rolled his eyes. "The overbearing symbol of our plight. Left to rot for thirty years by the government who works so hard to give their citizens peace and happiness."

"I'll find you something, or I'll make you something myself," Evie declared, sizing him up and letting her eyes hover on his for the first time since he'd glimpsed Mal and lost all semblance of his senses. Even now, his vision was fuzzy, his ears were ringing, and the tips of his fingers were numb in shock. "For now, let's get you something to sleep on, so you can rest before we need your help."

Ben nodded. "I, uh, am good to sleep here," He gestured on the ground. The teepee had no floor covering, so the base was just bits of grass and some dirt patches, but Ben was so tired he didn't find it all that unappealing.

"No," Evie narrowed her eyes. "We've already treated you unkindly as it is. We will find you a proper place to sleep and something proper to wear."

"I've got things in our supplies," Uma declared. "I'll get Gil and we'll bring them over. There might be a spare shirt and some pants he can wear too."

"Let me handle that," Evie shook her head. "You can bring in things for a bed, but leave his clothes to me. I've never made an outfit for an actual royal before."

"Other than yourself?" Ben asked, rubbing his eyes momentarily before yawning.

Evie tilted her head. "The Evil Queen has no royal status in Auradon," She reminded him. "She lost it when she was banished."

Ben shrugged. "The crown doesn't make you a queen," He told her. "I mean, your mother did bad things. She used her power to hurt. She wasn't a true queen. But you're not like her. You get to chose who you're going to be. Uma's mother imprisoned and tricked dozens, your mother attempted murder, Mal's mother is the mistress of all evil, and I've got the poster parents for goodness. But true queens and kings reach inside themselves, use what they've been given, and stick through with good causes until the end. And, if I have my say, I'll crown you myself when this is all over, Evie. None of you are evil. I can look into your eyes and just… know." He let his gaze flicker from Uma, who looked skeptical, to Evie, who looked touched, and to Mal, who looked even more confused.

"Are you always this perky?" Uma drawled, squinting at him as if he was suddenly hard to see.

Ben deflated a little. He'd have to learn to cut back on his speeches a little. "A little bit over the top?" He asked.

"A little more than a little bit," Mal snorted, still looking baffled. "I think you need more sleep than we were originally estimating."

"Well, so much for my first impression," Ben sighed, scuffing his toes into the dirt a little and sighing. He put his hands into his pockets and then glanced around at them all. "I do believe that, though."

No one said anything. They shifted their weight a little, squinted at him, and then slowly let their gazes flick to the ground. Finally, Uma took control of the situation. "We'll be back," She decided, stepping towards the flap. "You hang tight – it should be ten minutes and then we'll be back."

"I'm gonna get a crew together," Mal announced, following her to the door flap without another glance at him. Uma propped the flap open and gestured to it, waiting for Mal to go through.

"Loser, passage for one. Right this way, please." She drawled, raising an eyebrow at Mal.

Mal crossed her arms. "Are you gonna go, then?"

"Guys," Evie rolled her eyes. "You need to stop."

Mal and Uma both sent shifty glances towards Evie, and then Mal ducked out with Uma following her. Jay moved to the exit, and Carlos packed up the magnet and the needle with the utmost concern. The last person in the teepee was Evie, who examined him carefully. She didn't say anything, only examined his features and squinted as if she was trying to see underneath his skin.

"Looking for something?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Is everyone in Auradon as resistant to beauty as you are?" She asked. "I took your breath away, Uma fascinated you, and with Mal, you reacted hard enough for the boys to notice, but then it was as if you hardly noticed how we looked." She looked almost offended. "Boys from the Isle still take more than a few seconds to begin breathing again around me."

Ben blushed. "I see that you're beautiful, but – uh – beauty isn't everything."

"Are you attracted to danger?" Evie asked, and Ben's cheeks burned even brighter. "You seemed awfully taken with Mal for those first few seconds."

"I wasn't expecting the purple hair," Ben lied. Truth was, his heart was still pumping fast and he felt a bit woozy. "I, uh, am not a masochist."

Evie frowned deeper. Was she offended at his reaction to the three of them? He tilted his head to the side. "You're used to everyone thinking you're prettier than Mal?"

"She's dangerous," Evie replied simply. "Uma's taken and Mal is dangerous. And… I like to think I'm the fairest of them all." She folded her hands together and looked over his shoulder like she was some sort of unseeing statue.

"But you're also smart," Ben proposed. "And resourceful. Again, we had no idea you were even here. That's impressive."

"Yes," Evie nodded. "It's… odd, being away from my mother. For the first time, it's like I'm more than just a pretty face. Knowing I don't have to play dumb to get a guy… that I'm smart."

"I can't imagine living like that," Ben sympathized. "It sounds… horrible. I'm so sorry. I wish I'd thought of you guys years ago."

Evie hummed. "Yeah, my mom's not a barrel of laughs. Just ask Snow White. But, uh, it's over now. We're in Auradon now. This… this is the land of opportunity. We can be whatever we want here."

"Yes, you can be," Ben agreed. "And I'm going to do everything I can to help you guys."

Evie's stare hardened into something indecipherable and unreadable. Ben took his hands out of his pockets and folded his hands together as her eyes bored into his soul. Finally, having not found whatever it was that she was looking for, she spun around and headed to the door. "Uma and Gil will be here soon," She announced. "I'll see you later, Ben."

The flap closed and Ben was left alone. In under an hour, his life had been completely spun on its head. And boy was he exhausted. He sat down and leaned against the center pole. Against his will, his eyes drifted closed. 'Only for a few seconds' he promised himself. 'then I'll wake up when Uma and Gil get here.'

* * *

When he woke up, he was buried underneath a very large, heavy blanket that was pressing him into a thick comforter. The feeling would have been relaxing if it hadn't been so unbearably hot. Slowly, Ben crawled out from underneath the weighted item and discovered that his shoulders, knees, wrists, and ankles were _sore_. He winced as he rubbed them and then squinted at the daylight visible at the top of the teepee. It looked like mid-afternoon outside and was high-noon in Agrabah inside the teepee.

Ben picked at his clothes. He looked like he'd walked through a waterfall. He was completely drenched in his own sweat and completely parched. He ran his hands through his hair and then found, like Evie had promised, a new outfit laid on a tarp at the center pole of the teepee, where he had originally fallen asleep. A long-sleeved maroon shirt that looked like something that would keep him warm on a jog in November, some tan pants with very deep pockets, and a pair of shoes that were brown with black designs on the sides. He wondered if Evie had made them.

He wasn't too excited to see the winterish clothes but grateful that Evie had come through nonetheless. He wondered what his wardrobe would be the next few months and found he wasn't exactly sorry to say goodbye to suits and polished shoes for a little bit.

He rolled the sleeves up on the shirt to his elbows before he wandered closer to the flap of the teepee. He could hear people bustling around outside. He wondered if it was 'safe' to go out now. He wasn't exactly wearing Auradon colors anymore. What if Evie, Mal, or Uma got mad at him?

He pushed the flap open and stepped out. And the sight outside shocked and scared and thrilled and amazed him all at once. There were so many _people_.

People were rushing across the camp, which was actually much larger than Ben had first realized. People were standing and chatting, passing water bottles back and forth with bright smiles. People were tending small shops and exchanging wares. Hurt people sat in chairs and talked with each other. Young children raced on little horse and dragon toys, and there were even young adults his age who were walking arm in arm, shoving each other, everything. There were carts and small wagons lining the outside of the main road, which stretched for at least two miles in either way. There were other teepees and small structures, but it appeared everyone was living out of wagons and off the land. How extraordinary.

"Ben!" Someone called, and Ben's head snapped up in the direction of Jay, who was sitting on the back of a cart with Mal and Carlos. Mal was kicking her legs back and forth nonchalantly, and the sight of her made him pause before he glanced to make sure he wouldn't run into anyone and then crossed the road to join them.

"Sleep well?" Jay asked with a laugh as Ben neared them. "You look like you came back from the dead."

"Close enough," Ben shrugged, shielding a yawn. "How long was I out?"

"Four years," Mal drawled. "We made it all the way to the new land without you."

Ben snorted at the same time as Carlos. He took that as a good sign – he was catching on to her humor rather well. Mal looked down at him, carefully taking in the red shirt and his mussed hair, and then glanced away.

"It's only just starting to become evening," Jay assured him. "But we've got things on their way. Some people are already packing up. I think Evie is gonna have your teepee dismantled with the rest and put your stuff in with Carlos and I's wagon. That okay?"

"Only if it's okay with you," Ben assured Jay. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nah, it's cool, man," Carlos nodded. "We've never met a king before. We'll have to assimilate you into Isle culture."

"Assila-wha?" Jay crinkled his brow. "You and Evie both talk mouthfuls."

"It means to integrate. To mix," Ben supplied.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Well, look at this, guys," he elbowed Carlos with a roll of his eyes. "He's pretty, he gives inspirational speeches, and he has a brain."

"Two of those are true," Ben conceded. "However, I'm not sure my looks prevailed after having my face in the mud and then passing out for, well, all day." He tried not to look at Mal or Jay too hard or to sound like he was accusing them.

"Beauty is pain," Mal drawled, pulling her leg up onto her knee and continuing to kick the other one out. "And it could be worse. You could have been woken up right before midnight, hiked through the forest with a defense squadron thinking that the high kingdom had sent someone to order you to move or be moved, accidentally kidnapped the King of Auradon and then stayed up till now without a nap so you could go hunting to feed two-hundred kids and young adults." Mal let out a long, loud, piercing yawn. "I have been up for seventeen hours on two hours of rest."

"My cot is still set up if you want it?" Ben offered, cringing a little as he imagined how damp it might be from him basically drowning in his own sweat. Luckily, Mal didn't seem interested. "And wow, you lead defense squads, cast magic spells, and feed the masses. Anything else?"

"Spray paint," Jay mumbled under his breath. Mal kicked him.

"Excuse you," She spat. "Spray paint is a noble art form. I'd like to see you create anything remotely intelligible."

Jay furrowed his brow. "Intelli-wha?" He asked.

"Don't hate on the spray paint," Carlo nodded. "Her crap is pretty darn near perfect."

Mal let out a snort. "Ha! That's me, I am perfect. She multi-tasks; she dabbles."

"You're the best," Carlos shrugged. Mal nodded in agreement.

"Are you guys… a couple?" Ben asked slowly, glancing between Mal and Carlos. Carlos burst into laughter while Mal gave him an unimpressed look.

"No," She shook her head. "No. So don't get all worried, Prince Charming."

Ben's face turned red as he held up his hands. "I wasn't implying anything," He insisted. "I just wasn't expecting such high praise among friends from the Isle of the Lost."

"We're more like family," Jay explained. His face had taken on some dark tones and he was examining Ben in that same way Evie had been.

"Nah," Mal shook her head and kicked him again. "The King's right. We're like a gigantic lust-fest. You, me, Evie, and Carlos. We're all in a gigantic, messy relationship together."

"Oh, does that mean I get to hold your hand and bring you flowers?" Jay puckered his lips out as he teased her. Immediately, a cloud of rage darkened Mal's face.

"No, that's what Evie's for," She shoved Jay off the cart this time. "But you can walk down the street and make sure Shrimpy isn't messing anything up."

"You're too much work, Mal," Jay sighed. "I'm breaking up with you. You can keep Evie and Carlos."

"Who's Shrimpy?" Ben asked, crossing his arms and choosing not to comment as Carlos began to laugh even harder.

"Uma," Jay rolled his eyes. "She and Mal are having this power struggle that Evie usually balances out."

"It's not a power struggle," Mal hissed. "I'm more powerful than her. Especially here. Her little seashell trick only works near the ocean. I can turn into a dragon wherever. What we have is her thinking she can control me, and Evie trying to convince me to let her."

"So Evie's in charge?" Ben asked, glancing between Carlos and Jay in amusement.

"Evie's our people leader," Jay explained. "She's the, uh, Carlos, what's the word?"

"Executive person," Carlos supplied. "She works better at getting the people to rally behind her, though Mal and Evie both _think_ they're effective leaders." He elbowed Mal, who simmered. "Uma is better at dividing resources and keeping track of things, so she's our Resource Advocate. Mal, you probably noticed, is a fighter. She's the one who keeps us safe and handles the weapons, the squads, anything involving hunting or fighting, etc…"

"Military," Ben supplied. "Cool. It looks like you have things going."

A whiff of something nice caught his nose and he turned to look down the road. In the distance, a thin smoke was rising. "Is that where Uma is now?"

"Yeah," Carlos nodded. "Mal and whoever else was hunting today brought back a few deer. Uma, Harry, Gil, and the pirates used to work her mom's food shop on the Isle, so they and whoever else can cook are handling it."

"I hope she falls in," Mal muttered under her breath. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like."

"Have you ever tried being nice to her?" Ben suggested, raising his eyes at Mal.

"Have you ever tried kissing up to a live wire?" Mal shot back, turning her fiery gaze on him.

"No, why did you do that?" Ben replied. Carlos snorted and shoved Mal's arm. Mal scoffed and kicked her leg out at Ben. Ben caught her boot and held it up higher. Mal yelped a little as she scooted forward and scowled at Ben as Carlos and Jay both laughed at her. Ben took a moment to examine her foot in his hands. It was small – he could wrap his entire hand around her sole – and he probably had mugs at the palace with a wider diameter than her ankles. Tiny little Cinderella feet, this girl had. But she made up for her size with what looked like acres of toned muscle. He could see strength in every single tendon going up her leg. It helped that she was wearing tight pants with a few threadbare places behind her knees, across her calves, and even stretching up inside her thighs.

He dropped her foot as he felt his face growing a bit warm. Mal scowled a little as she moved back to her original position but didn't seem to have noticed him examining her. Either that, or she seemed to not care. Jay and Carlos, on the other hand, exchanged a cautious look.

Jay leaned forward and clapped Ben's shoulder. "Come on," He invited. "I'll show you Uma's area. You'll probably be helping us pack things up there tomorrow."

Ben nodded and let his eyes rest first on Carlos and then on Mal. He put a hand behind his back and bowed to them both, to which Carlos snorted at again. Then, without another glance back, he followed Jay away.

As soon as they were in the midst of the crowd and out of sight of the cart, Jay swung an arm around Ben's neck. "Okay, listen up," He whispered in a hushed, warning tone. "I want you to picture Mal for a second. Don't ask questions; just do it."

Ben blinked. It wasn't hard to conjure up the image of the purple-haired fairy – especially so soon after glancing at those long, long legs she had. "Okay?" He questioned, furrowing his brow.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Jay pressed his lips together. "I'm sure you noticed how her mouth is all one color and how her eyes have those little flecks that catch the sun, right?"

Ben's mouth went dry. "Jay, if she's yours, then-"

"She's not," Jay hissed, cutting him off. "She's no one's. That's why I'm telling you this – don't go after her. She's pretty to look at, but don't touch her. She's _dangerous_."

Dangerous. He said it the way you would talk about a person's identity. They're _Christian_. They're _Bisexual_. They're president of the women's court or they're the national tourney champion. Not a description; a title. "That's what Evie told me about her," Ben nodded. "But, uh, Jay, I wasn't-"

"Evie's right," Jay interrupted. "Because that purple-haired pixie has more fight in her pinky finger than the rest of us do in our bodies. Even Uma. And she doesn't exactly consider love a priority."

"Jay," Ben interjected with a blush coloring his cheeks. "I'm, uh, taken back home. I'm not going to make a move on Mal."

Jay blinked in surprise. "You're taken?" He asked. "As in, you've got someone waiting for you? Why did you agree to stay, then?"

"I, uh-" Ben stammered and then swallowed. "It's complicated. But she'll understand."

"Sheesh," Jay snorted. "Must be one heck of a patient lady. Alright, then."

They stepped under a little string of blue lights and Ben saw people hard at work cutting up the carcasses of several deer. Dozens of small, hot fires were being tended to by a variety of people in teal blue. Most of them seemed to be pirates. Ben watched a pirate with a teal sash tied around his hat take a large, clean knife from a collection.

"Be warned: Uma might put you to work," Jay called in his ear to be heard over the noise.

Ben looked around at the hustle and bustle. His stomach growled a little at the good smell in the air. "I'd be happy to help,"

"Wonderful," A voice came from his immediate right. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Uma put a hand on his bicep and turned him around. "You ever done any of this before?" She gestured over her shoulder to the deer, which had been strung up with rope so they could effectively get the meat off, and pulled a long, sharp, clean knife out of the pile.

Ben glanced over his shoulder and discovered that Jay had vanished. That didn't surprise him. "I have done high school dissections and I'm a quick learner," Ben shrugged. To be honest, he'd much rather be tending the fire than dismembering meat, but if that's what Uma needed then he would do it.

"Lovely," Uma clapped him on the arm and handed him the knife. "Gil has been at this for four hours since Mal's crew started bringing in the first few. They brought in extra so we could smoke some and that way we don't have to stop as we travel. I'm going to have him show you how to do it so you can take his place and then when all is said and done, you'll either be on the smoke racks or cooking things with Harry." She pointed at a tall, bulky, blonde-haired man who was mostly apart from everyone else. Ben nodded and, taking the knife firmly in his hand, headed towards the lone outsider.

"Hey, I'm Ben," He called when he got near enough. "Uma sent me to help you out. She said she wants you to teach me how to do this and then take a break."

Gil wiped off his forehead as he stood up and looked at Ben. His face lit up with a bright, childish smile. "Hey man! I know you! You're the character who passed out in the teepee today when we were bringing you your cot!"

Ben turned a little red. "Yeah, sorry about that," He apologized. "I meant to be awake to help you guys but I, uh, had lost a lot of sleep."

"Hey, no problem," Gil reassured him. "And uh, you're King Ben, right? I know you, man!"

"Really?" Ben raised an eyebrow and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "No one has recognized me yet."

"Well, my dad talks about your dad a lot," Gil said nonchalantly. "My dad… well, I'll give you a hint. He's quick, slick, and his neck is incredibly think."

G. Gil. Gaston. Ben inclined his head. "Do you… have a problem with me?" He asked cautiously. "I mean, I don't have a problem with you, but…"

"Nah," Gil shook his head. "I never really cared. But hey, when you get back to the castle, tell your mom that Gaston says hi, and tell your dad that – well, actually, don't mention that." He snorted and then gestured to the deer he was working on. "I already got the insides out and took care of the fur. We have someone from Evie's crew working on the hides because they're tough and we can make things with them. Mal has this nifty spell she made up that makes it so we don't have to wait for the meat to get older so it's softer. Usually, you have to wait until after this thing that Evie and Carlos know the word for goes away. It think it starts with an r…"

"Rigor Mortis," Ben supplied.

"Yeah, that's the word!" Gil nodded in approval. "We basically do it piece by piece. I already did the shoulders and that's the easy part, but I'll help you go through the rest. We have people over there with smaller knives who are getting things ready to be smoked or dried or cooked. The important thing over here is to not let it touch the ground and to not shred the meat to bad – oh, have you washed your hands?"

"I haven't," Ben shook his head. "But I will right now." Gil nodded and turned back to the beast. Ben turned away and spotted a line of people rinsing their hands off under a stream of water. He followed them, scrubbed his hands off(they even had soap… in the forest?) and then returned as Gil was handing off a few large pieces of meat to a young girl who'd come to get them.

Gil carefully explained how to trim the fat so that Uma could have the others turn it into soap or use it for whatever else she could find. Then, he guided Ben through the butchering process. Ben never, in a hundred years, had imagined he would be doing this, but decided it was best to consider his life choices when he wasn't holding a very large and heavy knife.

Gil stopped helping him after a while and went to go clean his knife off and get his water bottle, but then he returned and started talking to Ben as Ben worked, occasionally giving advice but mostly telling jokes about Auradon, the villains, and everything else he could think of. It was refreshing – Ben couldn't remember the last time he'd actually laughed with a friend.

"Hey, Ben," Gil started, taking a swig of his water bottle. "Do you know the name of the prize my dad won?"

Ben paused to briefly examine Gil, who was trying his best to not smile as he kept his eyes off his new comrade. "No," He responded slowly. "Does it have anything to do with hunting?"

Gil shrugged. "Depends on your point of view?" He shrugged. "I don't think so."

Ben shook his head. "I give up," He declared. "What was the name of the prize your dad won?"

"The No-Belle prize," Gil responded, snorting a little as he spoke.

Ben burst into laughter – the embarrassing kind where you snort and chortle more than you actually laugh. He turned away from Gil as Gil began to laugh even harder at his embarrassment, and then leaned his head against the tree they'd been working beside. "Oh my gosh," He gasped. "Oh my gosh."

Gil smiled brightly and took another drink before he pointed to the sky. "The sun is going down," He pointed out. "We better finish up soon. Do you have a place to stay? It'd be nice to have a bunkmate. Harry usually hangs with Uma."

"I've been put with Jay and Carlos," Ben explained. "But maybe I'll switch around. I like you a lot."

"Me too," Gil nodded. He got to his feet. "Let me finish up these last little bits. If you take what you've cut up over to Harry and everyone, they can show you how we get things done."

Ben nodded. He would have shaken hands with Gil, but his hands were kinda gory. So instead he laughed and thanked Gil and then took the collection of his work over to the opposite side of the road, where he put it down on a rack, like how he'd seen another young boy do it.

"Well, well, well," Someone drawled over his shoulder. "Wha' a lovely surprise."

Ben turned and found a man's face hovering close to his. He leaned back a little, eyes wide, and the man let out a tiny, barking laugh. "How's it feel being a king now?" He asked, leaning in even more with a crazed glint in his eyes. Then, maniacal laughter spilled from his lips as he retreated, curling his fingers and removing his pirate's hat. His red and white clothes were in tatters and clutched in his left hand was a glinting, slightly dinged pirate's hook.

"Give it a rest, Harry," Uma rolled her eyes, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder as she navigated around him. "He's still new."

"Aye, we nicked him," Harry agreed, a mischievous glint in his eye. "How long d'ya think he'll last?"

Uma laughed. "Evie told us not to scare him off. Honored guest."

At this, Harry's face twisted into something similar to rage, though a strong sense of humor remained trapped underneath his skin. "You said I could hook him!" He declared, brandishing the hook at Ben.

"I _said_ if he didn't do his work," Uma corrected, rolling her eyes. "And you don't need to get all jealous. If anything, he's gonna end up Evie's second." The daughter of the sea witch gave him a cursory glance. "Though he probably wouldn't mind if Mal decided she wanted a partner."

Ben's cheeks burned red. "I'm not here for any relationships," He corrected Uma quickly. "I'll be working with them, and you, but I'm, uh, already spoken for back home."

Uma raised an eyebrow and turned to Harry. "Don't listen to him," She advised. "You should have seen him turn into a fish when he first saw Mal. Even if he is spoken for, it won't last long with her around."

"I'm married," Ben interrupted. He felt around his neck and pulled up a ring on a chain strung about his head. "I don't wear the ring while I travel in case of ambushes but I'm married."

Uma gave the ring a cursory look. She hummed. "Pity for her," She shrugged and then turned around. "Alright, Harry, how much more?"

Ben let the comment slide. True, Mal was lovely, and yes, Evie seemed to be rather offended that he didn't find her equally so, but he was tied to Audrey by law. There would be no ruination of that fact while he remained here.

Uma and Harry wandered away without giving him any more commands, and Ben shifted uncomfortably before glancing down the assembly line. It amazed him how many people there were. Children and teenagers were everywhere, tending to all sorts of different tasks. He noticed that there were fewer of them further down the path, where large drying racks were set up beside fires and a couple of smaller children occasionally turned the meat so it would dry evenly. He headed down that way.

Ben supposed, gauging from the shortage of helpers and the type thereof that this was a task reserved for the small children, but seeing as he'd been given no other orders, he guessed that this would be a good place for him to pitch in until Uma came up with another job.

A bright-eyed little girl with colorful streaks in her brown hair was chatting happily with anyone who dared come too close to her lively spirit. Ben examined her from a distance – the colorful, jeweled headset around her head, the large glasses, and frilly dress. It struck him how alike she and Evie were. He'd assumed all of the people on the Isle simply went around ruining each other's lives over and over again and again, yet it seemed he couldn't have been farther from wrong. These people were creative, dedicated, and happy. Sure, they could all probably kill him and they had all had their fair share of hardships, but they were _good_. A deep love was taking root in his chest for every single one.

"Can you acquaint me with the process?" He asked cheerfully, stepping up next to the small girl. She looked up at him with a bright, fearless smile. "Of course!" She exclaimed. "We're just rotating everything around every half hour to make sure it dries evenly. And there's a system! Those ones over there will need to be done in five minutes, and then those and those-" She pointed to each of the fires in turn and it occurred to Ben that there were six fires. Clever.

"So, what's your name?" He asked, reaching up and helping her begin unpinning strips of meat. They had a nifty contraption that looked like a giant shelf, but with thin boards that held clothespins to dangle the meat in the smoke and above the flames. There were four to each fire set at equal distances with about two or three hovering around the one he had joined.

"I'm Dizzy," the girl introduced. Ben cast his mind back to his list of villains that he'd memorized at fourteen for his ninth-year history project – she could be the daughter of Doctor Doom or Doctor Doofenshmirtz, but his best guess was Lady Tremaine's granddaughter.

"Drizella's daughter?" He asked to confirm.

Dizzy nodded a little, keeping her mouth closed in an easygoing line. "Yeah," She agreed softly. "What about you? Were you sent to the Isle afterward? You don't seem like someone who was there for very long."

"Neither do you," Ben pointed out, casting his mind back to Mal, Evie, and Uma. "And no, I'm someone Mal picked up on the road yesterday and I've decided to hang out."

Dizzy looked over at him with wide eyes. "Oh!" She gasped and almost dropped the piece of meat she was turning. "You're the king? You're the person who's going to be helping us?"

Ben could blush and stutter out something. Or he could tease her for not knowing him. Neither seemed like the best reaction. So, instead, he stopped and wiped his hands on his pants for a second before he bowed, picking up Dizzy's hand and kissing her knuckles for a few seconds. He could feel eyes boring into his back – maybe Uma, maybe Harry, maybe any number of Islanders. Or maybe Mal. He imagined her green gaze watching him and a smile crooked his mouth as he stood back up. "I'm Ben," he introduced, leaving out the title. It was better without the title. He was more like them without making himself out to be something he had never really been able to play the part of. "Please to meet you, Lady Dizzy,"

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" A sultry voice came from behind him. He glanced over as he straightened up and saw Evie, still in her clothes from earlier, looking a little offended as she watched him release Dizzy's hand. "Where was that chivalry earlier when I was with you?"

Ben's danger sense, however weak it was, started tingling. "I don't usually do that," he admitted with a light blush. "I just thought that… the situation called for it." He wanted to impress the younger girl. He wanted to make her feel special.

"Ah," Evie's lips curled. "I see. You shake hands with me, kiss Dizzy's hand, and get on your knees for Mal."

"I did not-" Ben began before he recalled what she was referring to. He exhaled. "Evie, is it so much of a problem to you if I want to make Dizzy feel special? Could you perhaps be grateful for the way I did act rather than terrorize me for not immediately being smitten?"

Evie flinched and frowned and Dizzy set a hand on his arm. "It's okay, Ben," she consoled him. "Evie and I are like sisters. And she's been through lots. You can take the Isle out of the girl, but you can't take the girl out of the Isle!"

That doesn't stop Evie from turning and striding away.

"I hurt her, didn't I?" Ben whispered as he watched Evie disappear.

"It'll be okay," Dizzy shakes her head. "She's just been clued in to how she's still bending to her mom a little. We all forget; it's hard when we haven't been gone so long yet." She glanced through a rack at Ben. "Her mom used to beat her for every man who didn't stare when she walked past. So she's always tried really hard with people who don't react as quickly. And it doesn't help that you're a King with a big castle." Dizzy paused as she flipped around another strip of venison. "How many rooms in your castle?"

"I, uh…" Ben stuttered, completely thrown off by what Dizzy had revealed to him about Evie. He couldn't imagine being beat because other people didn't look at you as you walked past. "Uh… too many. Too many to count."

Dizzy nodded like this made sense. "Do you think there'd be enough for every one of us to come to live there?" She asked. "I know Evie said that we're going to go build our own place, but I was just wondering."

"I don't think so," Ben replied honestly, looking around at everyone surrounding them. "I wish, though. I'd take you all with me in a heartbeat." Then, he smiled at Dizzy. "Especially you."

"I've _always_ wanted to go to Auradon," Dizzy sighed dramatically. "Do you really have carpets you can walk onto? Have you been to a swimming pool before? What does ice cream taste like?"

Ben stopped and stared at her. There was this horrible building in his chest that felt like he was being filled with hot tar. "Carpets?" He asks weakly. They have carpets everywhere. They have carpet decorations hanging on some of the walls. Little Belle has bright pink carpets that make his head hurt every time he walks in. Audrey has her own thick, plush carpet rug that he's not supposed to touch. And swimming pools… he's taken Belle to the pool more times than he's taken her anywhere else. She doesn't like swimming but he makes sure she goes and that she knows how to swim, no matter how much of a fit she throws. "I, uh, yeah," He agreed softly. "I'll have some carpets sent to you guys when you get things set up. Big ones with fun colors that feel soft. And, uh, yeah, I love swimming. Ice cream… well, there are different flavors, but it's cold and sweet, and if you eat it too fast, then it gives you a headache."

"Really?" Dizzy gasped, eyes growing large and bright in excitement. "I've never had ice cream and most of the carpets are ruined. Cruella De Vil has lots, though, but we're not allowed to touch. Mal once threw a party at Carlos's house and so I got to see them then. And I don't know anyone except for Uma and her pirates who can swim."

"You live on an island," Ben blinked. "You can't swim?"

"There's a barrier," Dizzy shook her head. "Even Evie and Mal can't swim."

The back of Ben's neck grew hot, as if someone was glaring at him from behind. He stored that bit of knowledge about Mal away and then exhaled. "If you can't swim… how did you make it here?" He asked.

"Carlos built boats," Dizzy shrugged. "After he broke the barrier and Mal kept it open for everyone to get out, they put everyone on boats. And Mal cast an invisibility spell so we could cross without Auradon finding out. That's also why Uma was allowed to come."

There was so much information in that sentence that Ben had to stop and stare. Carlos built boats. Carlos broke the barrier. And Mal held it open. Holy crap.

"That's cool," he managed to choke out after a little bit. "And good that you were able to come over. I… wish I'd been able to bring you over myself. I guess I was too busy being king… gosh, that sounds lame." He exhaled and shook his head. "So, what about you? What was your life like?"

"I worked in Grandma's hair shop," Dizzy answered. "I had a few customers… a witch here and there. I mostly did lots of scrubbing and scouring and sweeping. Lots and lots of sweeping."

"Sounds like the old Cinderella treatment," Ben mumbled.

Dizzy's eyes flicked back up through the rack, and then she glanced past Ben as a group of kids ran by screaming. "Yeah," She mumbled. "She went from Wicked Stepmother to Wicked Grandmother."

Ben gestured out to the kids with a thumb. "You want to join them?" He whispered.

Dizzy shook her head. "Not really," She declined. "I know I should, but I'm used to the work. It still feels weird to play."

A little boy that only came up to Ben's knee dashed up and tapped his hand on Ben's thigh. "Diseased," He announced. "You're diseased."

Diseased. Ben glanced up as the group of kids all howled and shrieked at him. He reached over and tapped Dizzy. "Now you're diseased too," He laughed.

"Me? I can't be diseased!" Dizzy stared at him. "Who will tend the fires?"

A man in white and red steps up out of the shadows that Ben hadn't even realized were falling over the camp. It's Carlos, who has apparently made his way down to Uma's side of the camp. "Go on, Diz," he encouraged her. "You need a break. I'll cover you."

Dizzy hesitated, and Ben took her shoulders and shoved her away. "Go on," He told her. "Go play. You're only a kid once."

The little boy jumped up for Ben's hand. "You too!" He declared, yanking on Ben's fingers.

"I dunno," Ben shook his head. "I've got to help Carlos with the – Woah!" He tripped forward, glimpsing only Jay's long, brown hair as he caught his balance, and then the other diseased kids flooded around him to pull him in as Mal's two associates began finishing the fire he and Dizzy had been on. Dizzy shrieked as she was pulled into the vortex of screaming kids.

Ben laughed as he was pushed to the ground and then started grabbing random children, gathering them into his arms, and tickling their sides mercilessly. He laughed, then let out a little roar that made all the kids scream and giggle. Little ones climbed up onto his back and older children hung off his neck as they tried to team wrestle him to the ground. Some danced out of his reach and pointed their fingers with little shrieks. "Beast!" They cried. "Beast! Beast!"

It appeared word of who he was had gotten around. Ben didn't mind all that much as he picked up one of the smallest children and tossed them, squalling above his head, into the air. More kids gathered around. "Me! Me! Me!" They begged. Others held fast to his back. "Piggy-back ride!" They shrieked.

Instead, Ben reached out to one of the older kids. "Tag!" He yelled. "You're diseased!" Immediately, everyone jumped away, screaming, and took off running as the child tried frantically to tag everyone who dashed past. Ben jumped out of the way and about ten small children and older toddlers ran after him, letting out little yells as they dashed away from the tagger.

The sun went down. Ben did his best to guide the cluster of children away from the fires, but they all slowly dropped out one by one as the sun dipped out of sight and the night grew cool. Some mothers and caregivers called the children for dinner while others went of their own accord. Eventually, Ben was left to pick up three tiny kids who hadn't yet recovered from Isle emaciation and head up to the camp with Dizzy looping her arm through his and resting her head on his biceps. He balanced one kid on each shoulder as they yawned and stuck thumbs into their mouths, and then one six-year-old boy climbed onto his back and burrowed his nose into Ben's shirt as they walked up. The racks were still up, but adults were now switching the meat from side to side as the children all ate and went to sleep. Ben found several clean blankets stacked beside a wooden cart and spread them out, laying each of the three kids comfortably before covering them from the night chill. Dizzy he let use his arm a little longer as she tried to find Evie and then finally set her inside what she said was her cart so she could curl up with a soft sigh on her own blankets.

Ben leaned against a tree and watched as Uma directed for bones to be chopped up for broth to be made with and a large collection of young adults started packing away the jerky venison for the trip. His arms felt a bit sore from playing with all the kids, but he supposed he'd better get used to it. A few days more, and they'd be packing up this small camp and heading west.

He wondered if Audrey had been informed he'd vanished yet.

Someone slinked up through the shadows to him and held out a white plate to him. He took it, curious, and then saw green eyes light up through the dark. His hands went a bit clammy and a deep fire lit in his stomach as he stared at her. Mal.

"Good job tonight," She commended. "That looked absolutely exhausting."

Ben laughed a little, nervously. "What's this?" He asked.

"Dinner," Mal declared, stepping forward and leaning against the tree as well. She was facing the other direction and not nearly close enough for him to touch, but it was still close and he felt his breath hitch. "You missed it, so Uma put that aside for you."

"Ah," Ben nodded, squinting through the dark and then reaching down to feel some jerky and something that felt like a fresh vegetable on the side. "Thank you." It occurred to him that he hadn't eaten all day. "Is it safe?"

Mal burst into laughter, rolling her eyes, and Ben blushed. "Sorry," He apologized. "I didn't mean to accuse or anything."

"No, no," Mal shook her head. "I get it. Be careful of the food offered by kids of villains. I'm sure every kid in Auradon would know that."

"No!" Ben disagreed, snapping a little in his haste to explain himself. "No, that wasn't it at all. I totally trust you!" And to prove this, he reached down and found a piece of the vegetable, quickly raising it to his mouth and biting. Mal watched him with slatted eyes. It was so dark, he could barely tell where her body was, though he knew in the back of his mind what she looked like. Thin and powerful and with calluses and muscle in place of everywhere Audrey had soft skin and plush weight. He remembered, briefly, what it had felt like when he and Audrey had last lain beside each other over two years ago and then pictured Mal lying at his side in his wife's place.

God, was he so twisted that he was replacing Audrey after being away for a day?

'A month,' a voice nagged in his head. 'You haven't seen her for over a month. And she didn't look at you when you went to see her, so she hasn't seen you in longer.'

"I was just joking," she started in a slow tone. "I don't expect you to trust us after knowing us for a day and for, well, everything last night."

Ben blinked back at her and he hoped he could see the honesty in his eyes. "But I do," he replied.

Mal rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe you're a fool after all," She declared, and then pushed off of the tree. "Don't die overnight. Evie's rather fond of you."

"No, she's not, but she thinks I'm fond of you," Ben refuted. His words made Mal stop. She didn't turn to look at him, but he could almost feel her lips press closed.

"Careful, your majesty," she mumbled in a little hiss that had him immediately drawing connections to snakes and lizards and dragons. "Hasn't anybody bothered to warn you yet?"

"Only every person who mentions you," Ben raised an eyebrow. It was dark, but he somehow knew she would know. "It makes me wonder what happened to the last poor fellow?"

Mal snorted a little like he was a small child who'd said something particularly amusing and then walked away, still not looking back at him. He frowned a little and finished his dinner in the dark. Then, minding the ground, he headed back to the fires. In the light of one, Uma and Harry were standing very close, speaking to each other with tiny grins and soft whispers. Uma wrapped her fingers around Harry's hook carefully, and he watched her with a crazed look.

Ben set his plate down with a small stack of others he could vaguely see the outlines of. Uma glanced up at him. "Oh, good, you did get something to eat. I was wondering."

Ben nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Thanks for setting it aside for me."

Harry tilted his head a little and frowned at Ben as Uma's face twisted in confusion. "What?" She asked.

Ben stopped and examined her face. Pure, unabashed loss. She had no clue what she was talking about. "Oh," he shrugged it off. "I must have been misinformed. Pardon me. Well, I'll see you in the morning, then."

He turned and walked away, and Uma did not follow.

He went back up the road and found where Jay, Carlos, and Mal had been before. Jay and Carlos were curled up in their cots in the backs of their carts, and in the middle was a spare one for Ben. He hopped up, pulled his shoes off, and glanced around and up at the stars before noticing the next cart over. It was darkened, but nothing could silence Mal's striking green gaze as she hovered on the edge of the cart, gazing out over the road with her slatted gaze and watching everyone come and go. Watching him, specifically. She was like some emerald-gazed gargoyle, staring down from above.

Ben didn't say anything to her. He had a feeling he'd done enough damage for one day. He pulled up under the blankets and pressed his nose into the pillow, trying to put out the girl next door from his thoughts without forcing his head to acknowledge that there might be a small problem.

* * *

There was a loud crash from across the road and the ground shook as Ben, Jay, and Carlos were rolling up all their few possessions and packing them tightly into the very back of the cart. "Don't drop the teepee so hard!" Evie commanded, stomping over to where three young adults were sheepishly looking over. Ben felt the ground continue shaking as she walked past, and then turned to help Carlos heave a collection of wires, metal attachments, and whirring parts into the cart. Carlos said it was going to be a fan, but Ben couldn't quite see the vision yet.

"Ben!" Someone shouted, giving the 'e' in his name a little bark to it. "You finished yet? We could use your help down in the docks!" It was Uma, looking like she was ready to murder anyone who got in her way. Consequently, a path opened up. It was interesting, Ben had noticed, how everyone regarded the three – Uma, Mal, and Evie – as unspoken leaders who had no higher standing in comparison to each other.

"He's helping us pack up!" Jay declared, hoisting up a group of large, curved sticks that had been entrusted to his care by Evie for some sort of invented game. If there was one thing Ben had learned during these last few days, it was that the Islanders, now that they had left, knew how to have fun. They were always coming up with new activities and games. Ben hoped they'd be able to stop in Charmington to grab some cards so he could teach them card games. "Go get your lackeys and have them help you."

"They're all busy," Uma refuted, leaning against their cart. "I need help dismantling the last of the smoke system. So I'm coming to fish him out of your dump. My part of the camp's the important one anyway."

A leering voice came from the next cart over. "Just like your mother, always a catch." Ben turned to give Mal and exasperated look. He momentarily forgot his goal in the face of her new outfit – a neon green pantsuit with black streaks across it – but still managed to give her an exasperated look.

"Relax, Mal, I'll give your pet back unharmed," Uma rolled her eyes.

"Oh no, feel free to do whatever. Not like it'll hurt me at all," Mal arched an eyebrow. "Besides, it's about time you did something useful anyway."

"You eat, don't you?" Uma challenged. "Unless you'd like to eat raw meat with all the blood still in it?"

"We both know I wouldn't have a problem with that and it'd only make me look tougher than you," Mal deadpanned. Ben gave her a cautious glance. There was no joking in her voice.

"Last I checked, your mother thought she had things all sewn up too. How'd that work out for her again?" Uma asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Okay, enough," Ben rolled his eyes. "Mal, why don't you come off your perch and help Jay and Carlos finish? Unless you'd like to go help Uma pack things up?"

Jay gave him a sideways look with raised eyebrows, which only made Ben set his hands on his hips. Mal looked utterly offended. She hopped off her cart and took two steps so that the top of her head was about two inches away from his chin. If he really wanted to, he could lean forward and kiss her forehead, but he knew he wouldn't.

"What makes you think you can give me orders?" She asked with a low growl building in the back of her throat. Her teeth were clenched together.

"I didn't," Ben shook his head. "I asked why you weren't hopping down. I never told you that you had to."

"You insinuated it," Mal hissed.

"You assumed I did," Ben replied.

Uma crossed her arms and looked at Mal expectantly. Mal was fuming. He could practically feel her steaming. "I could hurt you," she threatened.

Ben shrugged. "Not without permission, I bet," he conceded. He doubted she'd hurt him anyways.

Mal let her gaze settle into something offensive and angry. She turned away from him and walked away with her hair flying out over her shoulders as she stormed off. Ben chuckled a little, knowing she'd hear it, and then turned around. Carlos's mouth was open a little and Jay looked like he was positive he'd started hallucinating.

"Wow," Uma nodded her approval. "I've never seen anyone do that."

Carlos reached out and tapped Ben's arm. "He's still alive?" He whispered. "She must be killing you from a distance."

"She won't," Ben rolled his eyes. "If she comes back, see if you can put her to work. She spends too much time perching up there."

Uma snorted and then nodded her head back to where her area was. Everyone called the area "the docks" because apparently, that had been Uma's territory on the Isle. Mal and Evie, meanwhile, shared "the city", though Evie was allowed to go wherever she wanted because she was a good diplomat. Apparently, Evie had been part of Mal's gang but had risen to a leadership position when Mal and Uma were unable to compromise without a mediator.

Uma showed him to an area mostly untended and set him to work dismantling things. She didn't stick around to help though. She never did, and Ben had a suspicion that it was because Harry Hook was still unsure of him.

After an hour of breaking apart wooden beams and stacking them into small, easily-maneuverable piles, Ben felt all the hair on the back of his neck rise up. He knew why. It always did when Mal entered the area.

He didn't bother searching for her. Part of the reason why was because Evie had picked up on his hypersensitivity and was a bit sore over it. He didn't know if she was around, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The other part was that he was curious to see if she'd seek him out.

He'd almost blocked out the prickling of the skin on the back of his neck when a pair of pale hands snatched the bundle he was reaching for and held them off the ground as he tied a rope around them. Ben almost jumped out of his skin. He glanced up and met Mal's bright, electric green eyes, then focused his gaze on the ground and on the task at hand.

She helped him tie up the smoking racks and then, when all twenty-four were tied up, gathered a few stacks into her arms. Ben watched her pick up two, then four, then eight stacks, and silently set out to do more than her. Not to prove he was stronger, because that was a useless endeavor, but to prove he was strong enough to help her. He lifted two with ease, then four with a bit of an awkward shift, then lifting six was like lifting Little Belle, and eight wasn't too bad, so he went to ten and then twelve and then found himself again staring into Mal's eyes as they both reached for the last one, her twelfth and his fourteenth.

Mal turned her head to the side a little. Ben cleared his throat a little bit. "Would it be more chivalrous of me to take it so you don't have to lift it, or let you take it so that I'm not coming off as underestimating your strength?"

"I know you don't underestimate me," Mal assured him softly. "But you should let me take it so that we're equals."

Equals. A title, not a description. Just like how Mal was "dangerous". She was offering an equal status. And she was offering to take it. Ben tilted his head at the same angle she had hers at. "This is your olive branch for threatening me earlier, huh?"

Mal's face turned scarlet and her hand shook above the pile a little. Ben smirked a little, picked up the bundle, and handed it to her. He and Mal took their stacks and headed towards Uma's carts. Ben hefted his into the cart and then jumped up to help Mal stack hers beside him. She didn't say anything as he pressed each stack into place, but she did nod an approval when he hopped back down. They stood beside each other for a second, and then Ben turned to head towards where Harry was packing up cooking supplies.

"Where are you going?" Mal asked, wrinkling her nose and turning to watch him leave.

"To go help Uma," Ben replied. "Aren't you ready to hit the road? You have a kingdom waiting for you."

Mal blinked slowly and said nothing as Ben walked away. He knew she was gone when his muscles relaxed and his skin began to warm again, but it still filled him with sadness when he glanced over his shoulder and she had vanished from view.

God, what kind of womanizer was he trying to make himself into?

* * *

"We need two to every wagon!" Evie commanded, walking down the road early the next day. Everything had been packed up, tucked away, secured and tied into the carts. The carts, it should be mentioned, were of various varieties. Some had tiny awnings raised over them, some had two wheels and a handle, others had four and were pushed with handles screwed into the side. Most were wood, though some were metal, and now everyone's belongings were cramming into them. Until they arrived, this would be where everyone slept and kept their things.

Jay and Carlos picked up the handle of the cart without even turning to Ben. They began chattering – a conversation about their parents on the Isle that they'd started hours ago – and Ben twisted his hands before turning away. "Evie!" He called, and the blue-haired girl turned on her heel. "Do you have any community carts that I could help with?" He asked.

Evie considered him and then nodded towards a rather long cart that had teepee poles and clothes stacked in most of it with several dozen hides weighing them down. Ben nodded and went to pick up the handle at the front of it. The wood was rough, but it would smooth out in a few days. The opposite was happening to his hands. Before, he'd only had calluses where he wrote, but now he was gaining thick patches all along the insides of his hands and on his arms a little bit. He had, for the first time in his life, a farmer's tan where he kept rolling his shirt up.

"Ben! Ben!" A group of nine-year-olds ran up with bright smiles and giggles. Ben quickly dropped the handle to give them all hugs. These kids were so much more expressive than moody Little Belle. They never begged for toys or candy, instead pleading for loves and hugs and the chance to be thrown into the air. Ben was happy to oblige – he didn't want to imagine how often they'd gotten bear hugs on the Isle. If only he knew how to help Little Belle be more like them – happy with small things, patient, and always wanting loves. Maybe it was the outside air? Or the chores?

Maybe he'd let Belle's nanny go when he got home. Let her go and downsize her room – make her spend time outside with other kids her age and without the endless expanse of colorful toys that didn't even entertain her anyways.

Of course, Audrey would complain. What were the chances he could do the same thing to his wife?

A little girl shyly extended a bouquet of white daisies that had been carefully pinched off their stems and arranged with little grass strands tying them together. Ben made a show of gasping in surprise, reaching for them carefully, pulling one out to put back into her hair, and then carefully tucking the rest of the bouquet into his suit pocket.

"Speak French!" One of the children begged, tugging on his arm.

Ben laughed. "Je parler pas Français!" he protested. "Tu es dingue!"

"To-eh you!" a little girl reached up and patted his cheeks as she tried to repeat what he'd said.

Ben kissed both of her cheeks and gave her a quick hug before standing back up. "Alright, little language learners, we have to get this show on the road. Go find your carts so you don't get left behind!"

They left gradually, bidding him dozens of farewells that left a bright smile plastered on his face, even when he felt his skin grow cold and his hair begin to stand on end again.

Did she always have to watch him? Why couldn't she just come talk? Instead, he always had to keep from looking for her, trying to keep Evie, Uma, or anyone else form thinking he was anticipating her arrival. Trying to convince himself to not anticipate her arrival.

"Alright, everyone!" Evie yelled from further down the road. "Jay and Carlos are in the lead. Anthony Tremaine is at the rear. Let's go!"

Slowly, one by one, carts began to pull out. Ben fished in his pocket for a handkerchief, still ignoring the icy feeling that told him a fairy was watching him, and then wrapped it around the handle before picking it up and heading forward. The weight of the cart was heavy, but not horrible. Ben could manage it with one hand for a short amount of time and then switch hands. His shoulder might kill at the end of the day, but he'd be able to manage.

As he hit the main road, he felt the wheel catch on something. He pushed a little more, and the wheel skidded but didn't continue forward. He glimpsed purple out of the corner of his eye and then chose to neither react nor meet her gaze as Mal ducked under the handle and then pulled out her own handkerchief to lay across the handle. Together, they shoved, and Ben felt a rock come loose in the ground before they moved forward and into a long line heading west into the forest.

"Thank you," Ben bid Mal. He wondered if she was sticking around to help him, though she should be helping Evie with their cart. She and Evie, being close as sisters, shared a living space, though Mal tended to go where she wanted when she wanted and only returned to the cart when she wanted to perch and observe all her subordinates.

"Yeah," Mal shrugged carelessly. She was silent for several seconds and then asked: "You're serious about all this, right?"

"Mal, I gave you my oath," Ben reminded her. Mal remained tight-lipped. "I won't be going anywhere until I've helped you guys resettle."

At this, Mal gave him a cursory look. "Why didn't you go help Uma?" She asked, changing the subject.

Ben blinked a little. "Well, Jay and Carlos kinda took over my cart, so I asked Evie and she directed me to come here." He tilted his head at her. "Why aren't you at your cart?"

Mal squinted at him. "This is my cart," She nods to the back.

Ben turned and furrowed his brow at the teepees and the hides. "I thought you had the one next to Jay and Carlos?" He asked.

"That's Evie's," Mal nodded in agreement. "I bunk with her and I watch over my gang." She shook her head. "Isle stuff. You wouldn't understand. But this is mine."

"Oh," Ben's cheeks turned a bit red. "I'm sorry for grabbing it so suddenly. This is… a little awkward."

"It's fine. Evie's fault anyway. She probably orchestrated it." Mal nodded to the front and Ben looked up just in time to see Evie turn around. She wasn't pulling a cart, but she was walking next to Carlos and holding a magnet. Ben admired her courage – strutting through the woods in stilettos. Even Audrey would have worn sneakers.

Ben pinched his lips together as he realized what has happened. A set-up. Evie must have known Mal would ask what he was doing. He wondered what her intentions were – to see if he would fall over himself again, to see if Mal would incinerate him or… what? "Is everyone trying to set me up to be beside you?" He asked with a little frustration. Behind him, the camp disappears. Beside him, Mal gave him an odd stare.

"Not me," she replied after several long moments. The cart clatters over several rocks.

"I would believe that, except I can feel your gaze wherever I go," Ben shot back. "You think I don't notice you watching, but I do. And things keep happening – you keep appearing – and I know they're not coincidences."

Mal furrowed her brow. "What are you implying?" She snapped.

"You know exactly what I'm implying," Ben fixed his gaze on hers. He may not have fire behind his eyes, but he's served as a father and as a king and knew how to do a pretty good death stare. Mal kept her gaze focused on the road and curled in her shoulders a little. "Is this what you do on the Isle?" He asked. "Hang out and scope out gentlemen and bewitch them into asking for dates?"

"We don't really date much on the Isle," Mal replied. "It's more like… gang activity."

Ben kept his eyebrows arched as the trees grew denser around them. The children are singing group songs around them as they march alongside the carts, picking up flowers and leaves and pretty pebbles. Many of these items will end up gifts for Ben later on. Finally, Mal broke. "I don't hand out to scope for… boys. I like being high because then I can see danger faster. That's how we spotted your company in the first place. It's how we kept safe on the Isle. They call it a hierarchy for a reason – whoever's at the top is the safest."

"Actually, second-highest is safest," Ben reasoned. "Everyone's always trying to knock the top person off, so if you're right below him or her, you're mostly safe." He elbowed her a little. "Which, I suppose, is why I'm the most-protected person in this camp. I'm right below the three and above everyone else." It also helped, he supposed, that the three all seemed to like him.

Mal debated his ideas with a snort and then a nod. He took that as a good sign.

The trail continued. Ben wondered briefly where it was coming from – there hadn't been any followable trail in the days he'd been in camp, but then he realized that must be the reason Mal's eyes are still lit up like she is doing magic – she has been creating the trail, due west, despite being stuck in the middle of the line. And with this knowledge, he tried harder to push the cart himself so Mal didn't have to overexert himself. Mal, however, matched her speed to his and he had to back down before they ran into the cart in front of them.

"I have a question," Ben announced when his mouth began to feel a bit dry. "You mentioned when I first came here that your middle name was worse than mine. And I've been thinking; what could possibly be worse than Florian?"

Mal panted a little as they walked. Ben reached back with one hand and found a dinged water bottle – a treasure from the Isle – tucked inside. He handed it to her, and she let one hand off the handle to take a drink before passing it to him and then answering. "Bertha," She replied. "My middle name is Bertha."

Ben almost dropped the water bottle. "Bertha?" He repeated. "As in Mal Bertha?"

"Yeah," Mal frowned. "Just my mother doing what she does best; being really, really evil." She brandished a finger at him. "Now, don't you go spewing that around!" She warned.

Ben blinked at her nail, dangerously close to his eyes. He squinted a little at her and then managed to take a drink before re-stowing the water bottle away. "Wait," he frowned. "Who else knows?"

Mal kept her lips sealed shut and Ben formulated his own answer. Evie, Jay, and Carlos at the most. At the least, only him. "What makes me so special?" He asked.

Mal shrugged, furrowing her brow together. "You asked," She decided.

That sort of makes sense. Mal wasn't very approachable; chances are no one had ever bothered to ask. But that didn't explain how she didn't want him telling anyone. If she'd were honest with anyone who asked, then it wouldn't be a problem if he said anything. "Mal?" He asked.

Mal sighed in something like agony. "Ben," she began, "Shut up and walk."

* * *

When they stopped for the night, Ben made sure Mal had a place to sleep either in her own cart or in Evie's. It looked like she'd be staying in Evie's, as she was back up on her perch again. Evie's cart had a little bench overlook on top of it, which made it a bit heavier, but they can also fit emergency supplies and some sparse weapons in there, so it doesn't matter. She watched him as he walked by, glanced at the small space they'd cleared out, and noticed her spellbook set on her pillow.

"You're doing it again," He teased a little without much humor in his tone. "Perching and scoping out gentlemen to kidnap and bewitch."

Mal let her face twist into a little thing of amusement. "What does that say about you?" She asked.

Ben, once again, was at a loss for words. He hadn't meant to convey his predicament so obviously… that he is being bewitched even though he really shouldn't be. He swallowed as Mal leaned down from her perch to examine him. Her green eyes had faded to grey, and he could see those golden flecks sparkling in the setting sun. "Is it working?" She asked softly, curiously.

Ben jolted out of his thoughts and shook his head furiously to clear it. "Goodnight Mal," He bid her and then left.

* * *

"This is worse than any punishment my mother ever gave me," Mal growled as she kicked a rock out of their path. Ben snorted. It's the third day of walking. Their faces are all sunburned. Ben's hands had cracks running up them. Mal's fingernails were chipping off and her nails have little brown streaks in them. Everyone had splinters, but theirs's are less because of the ingenious idea of the handkerchiefs.

Mal had entertained him occasionally with stories of everything under the sun – the Isle, setting up the camp, and – his favorite – her childhood. He'd decided Mal definitely had a height complex – she wa a dragon, meant to be in the air anyways, but this combined with the fact she grew up in a tower on the Isle of the Lost and one of her chores was to scope for danger while her mother slept and then later they built a hideaway that was forty feet off the ground and Mal used to stay up all night watching over her friends… it's no surprise she acted the way she did now. He had noticed, however, that she had shifted her post to be of equal distance between him, Jay, Evie, and Carlos since he'd arrived. He was in her circle of protection now, and he was creeping steadily towards his own circle of danger.

Part of him knew he should come clean about Audrey now. Part of him hoped that someone else would mention it to her. A very naïve part of his brain wondered if she already knew and was only doing these things – watching him, dropping small remarks, examining him – to see how uncomfortable she could make him.

If she was, there was a problem with that plan – he wasn't uncomfortable. On the contrary, a week of eating Uma's food and doing real work and having real conversations with people and sleeping under real stars had done wonders for him. Part of him wanted to throw Audrey's ring in a bush and let Evie rip up his Auradon crest shirt for scraps and never, _ever_ look back, but the other part whined uncomfortably and conjured up a feeling of disappointment and guilt in such a strong manner than Ben was almost left gasping for breath. He wasn't uncomfortable; he was desperate for change. And that realization was despicable because really, if he needed more love, he should ask Audrey to be more affectionate. To come into his office from time to time and smile. To attend dinner with him and Little Belle. To go places with him and go see their old friends. He shouldn't have been running off with other women and over-analyzing the amount of time they spent watching him whenever he's helping to do any heavy-lifting or when he's playing with the other kids or… anything.

"Yeah?" he snorted as Mal continued to complain under her breath. "I don't know about you, but this is the best thing that has happened to me."

Mal rolled her eyes. "You were obviously spoiled rotten, then."

"Guilty as charged," Ben affirmed in the driest tone he could conjure up. Maybe that's the problem with Little Belle – he and Audrey have spoiled her too much. Would it be too drastic to take everything away and start from scratch? Perhaps if he could keep Audrey out of the picture long enough, then…

God, he couldn't decide if he wanted his wife closer or farther.

Mal tripped a little over a sparse rock and Ben snatched her arm before she could fall forward. Her face turned a little red as she regained her footing. "Sorry," she mumbled quickly and then kept her gaze fastened on the ground in embarrassment. Ben let a little smile pull at the corner of his mouth. He decided not to mention it.

"What's Auradon like?" Mal asked, huffing a little harder as the trail turned steeper.

Ben shrugged. "They're very... selfish. I mean, I'm going to probably work until the day I die for them, but I'll never get any credit for it."

"Or at least until the throne is passed on," Mal reminded him nonchalantly. Her words made him stumble. She snatched his arm and hoisted him back up as he stared at her with a bit of a wild tone in his eyes. He hadn't mentioned to anyone, yet, that he had a daughter. Jay, Uma, and a couple of other people knew about Audrey, but the fact he was also a father hadn't been raised yet. How would Mal know?

"I wasn't trying to insinuate anything," Mal snapped a little, wrinkling her nose at his reaction. "Geesh, did I hit a sore spot or something?"

Ben stared at her, trying to puzzle out what she meant, and then slowly shook his head. "No," He mumbled. "My apologies. I misheard."

Mal examined him a little bit more and then turned her attention back to walking without any further questions or prodding. Ben, too, focused on taking one step before another as the cold sweat dried off his skin, and his heart thudded in his chest.

* * *

They passed Charmington by, and then a week into the trek, it rained.

They had seen the storm coming, and so they'd had time to erect teepees and lean-tos and a couple of large canopies that Carlos had whipped up. Then, they'd turned over some of the carts and covered all the supplies with tarps and hides. Now that there was no more work needing to be done, Ben was hiding out underneath a cart with Jay and Carlos, Evie and Uma. Evie, Uma, and Carlos were doing some sort of crazy math that Carlos invented to figure out how far they've gone while Jay and Ben played a game with a stick. The stick had one end painted red. One person flipped it to the other, and if they caught the red end, it's a point against them.

Ben heard the first few drops hit the ground as he caught the stick in mid-air. He paused, twirling it in his fingers before looking around at their group. "Where's tall, pink and scary?" he asked, flipping the stick to Jay, who snorted at the contradiction he'd painted. Ben raised an eyebrow at him as he threw the stick wide and Ben had to lean in his chair to grab it.

"Out," Uma shrugged. "Don't worry, Prince Charming, she'll be back soon. Then you can stop pining for her."

Ben rolled his eyes. "I love how you all assume I'm completely smitten for her despite the fact I treat her and Dizzy about the same way," he snorted. Now, to be fair, he did think Mal was very lovely, but he had Audrey to remember. Aside and Little Belle.

"Except you don't drool when you look at Dizzy," Evie laughed. She'd stopped being sore at Ben's subtle rejection and was now prone to making all the suggestive comments she could, taking great joy in the way he dismissed her every whimsical notion. "And your eyes don't get all big and wide and you don't start ignoring everyone else around you."

Ben scoffed. "Sure, Evie," He sighed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Give it a month," Evie recommended with a wicked grin. "You'll be helping _her_ sleep at night and I'll be right." She turned to Uma with a smirk pulling at her lips. "I can't wait to see what their wedding will look like. It's sure to be a royal spectacle."

Ben's mouth went dry. This was not careless teasing. It was not friendly jabs. He and Jay both stopped their game as Jay's dark gaze hovered on Ben's shocked expression.

"Evie," Ben swallowed nervously. "You know I'm married, right?"

Evie's mouth dropped open and she spun to stare at him face-on. Ben kept his expression straight and serious as he pulled out his ring. "I, uh, don't wear the ring when I travel. It got broken too many times the first year I tried." He held it out for proof. It was a flashy, rough, ugly sort of thing. Ben hadn't ever actually thought a wedding ring could be ugly until Audrey had dropped that one in his hand. It was blue and made entirely from sapphire with little silver tendrils curling around it. Partially clear, and with her name on the outside, though it was hard to see without focusing. It was, he thought, a good allegory for how their relationship was. Very expensive, flashy, centered on her and often uncomfortable to wear.

Carlos sucked in a breath as Uma let out a whistle. "Way to go big or go home," she laughed. "Why'd you pick that shade of blue? It doesn't match with anything."

Ben shrugged, red tones creeping into his neck. "She did," he admitted. "I, uh, just went along with it." He replaced the chain around his neck and hid the ring from sight, feeling sheepish. "I, uh, know it doesn't exactly blend in very well. I think that was her intention."

Uma turned her head to the side. "But you like this girl, right?" She demanded. "Like, Auradon True Love and everything?"

Ben blinked slowly at all of them as they leaned forward. This was the part where he agreed. Yes, he and Audrey were in love. They were, after all, the example of what everyone in Auradon wanted. He had to play that part so that these people - these new citizens of Auradon - would know what to search after. Perfect marriage with your one True Love and Happily Ever After. But for some reason, he couldn't conjure his affirmation. He gave an odd motion instead - something that was half nod and half-shrug. He tried to open his mouth to say something to back up his motion but a dozen images stopped him. Audrey, not even looking at him when he came in to tell her Belle had been dropped from preschool for bad behavior. Audrey, forbidding him to touch or move a dozen different items when they first moved in together. Audrey, slowly filling up everything everywhere with her and her presence while Ben watched all things small and simple fade from existence.

"Oh man," Carlos exhaled. "That's rough, man."

Ben blinked. He hadn't said anything aloud, but apparently, his face had changed while he was consumed in his thoughts. "It's, uh, not ba - I mean - it's manageable."

"Does Mal know?" Jay asked, pulling his focus back to the purple-haired girl's right-hand associate.

Ben shrugged. "I assumed word would get around but apparently not. Does Mal need to know?"

His only answer was an awkward silence and the shifting glances of everyone around. Ben's heart sank. This had obviously gone way further than he ever intended. "I'll... drop a hint," he agreed dejectedly and ran his hand through his hair.

"A hint for what?" Someone asked as they walked up. Everyone's heads snapped over to where Mal was approaching with a sword swung over her shoulder. Ben swallowed. It was one thing to - break her heart? Let her down? Disappoint her? But it was another to do it when she had a means to decapitate him.

"Nothing," Ben assured her. "Where did you run off to?"

"Just out," Mal rolled her eyes and used her foot to pull up a chair beside Evie, within easy reach of Ben. She stuck the sword into the ground, leaned her chin against her hand, and then put her feet over by Uma's chair. Uma wrinkled her nose and kicked Mal, but Mal moved her foot out of the way of the blow and then set it on top of the teal-haired girl's foot.

Ben sighed and leaned over to knock Mal's hand out from under her chin. "Quit antagonizing each other," He demanded. "You guys are so similar it's hilarious."

On instinct, Evie opened her mouth to make a snide comment, then closed it without further comment. Mal stuck her tongue out at Ben. "Sure, your majesty," She rolled her eyes. "I thought you weren't going to be giving out orders?"

"Fair point," Ben nodded. "Mini-Maleficent, would you kindly refrain from pestering the daughter of Ursula, who is patient enough to keep feeding your ungrateful behind day after day?"

Uma burst into laughter about the same time Mal spun around, eyes lit up, to glare at Ben. "Beasty boy," She drawled, glaring at him. Ben's heart thudded against his chest. There was a sudden pain under his tongue and he realized that Evie was right - he was drooling. He closed his mouth in time to listen to Mal continue talking. "Would you like to quit talking or would you like to lose a few fingers?"

"To be honest, neither option sounds quite right," Ben sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You know what, Mal? I'm calling your bluff. Let's see this violence you keep threatening me with." He leaned back into an upright stance and offered Mal his right hand. She blinked at it in shock.

"What?" She gasped. "Are you insane?"

"Go on," Ben snorted. "Let's see your threat in action. I bet you won't."

Mal shoved his hand away. When their skin brushed, his heart did flip-flops inside his chest. He could feel pins and needles all along where she had touched him, and he was suddenly short of breath. As he leaned back into his seat, trying to conjure up a triumphant smile, he focused on making sure his lungs were still functional.

A sudden boom echoed throughout the sky. Everyone gasped and Mal seized her sword, jumping to her feet. Evie, Jay, Uma, and Carlos all spun around to see where the sound had come from. Ben stared. "It's just thunder," he told them. "Did you not have it on the Isle? In storms and everything?"

"We had storms," Uma frowned, staring at him in confusion. "But our storms didn't yell at us."

Ben snorted and then covered his face as he laughed. "I'm sorry," He apologized. "It's not the storm, it's the electricity in the air. The same stuff that's in batteries. See, when the weather is dry and there are lots of temperature changes in the air, you can get lightning. It's a lot of sparks that can fall from the sky. You'll probably see some here soon - it's very beautiful. But anyways, light travels faster than sound, so the lightning comes first and then the thunder follows. You can actually calculate how far away the storm is by counting how far in between they are."

"So, the thunder comes from the lightning?" Evie asked, leaning out over the edge of the cart and examining the sky. In the distance, Ben could hear people panicking, calling for help. They'd have to head out to explain everything soon.

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "But when they first named them, they didn't realize that." He stood up, brushed his legs off, and then pointed to the skyline, where scores of dark clouds were approaching. "Here, wait a moment, we'll probably see some lightning and then I'll show you how to tell how far away it is." He leaned against the cart with an arm above his head. Evie, Carlos, and Mal all leaned forward, examining the skyline quizzically.

"We didn't have lightning on the Isle," Jay murmured. "I guess the barrier stopped the electricity."

"But you do know what electricity is, right?" Ben asked. "I can explain that too."

"We do," Carlos nodded. "I found a book on it once. And that's how we escaped. I used a magnetic pulse to break the barrier long enough for Mal to get in the hole and hold it open."

A flash of yellow appeared off in the far distance. Evie gasped in shock and Ben saw every single hair on Mal's arm stand up on end. Her face had gone paler with surprise. "One," he counted softly, still tracing her face with his eyes. "Two, three, four…" He waited for the boom of thunder to follow. Finally, it did, making everyone jump a little before they all relaxed and began to laugh. "Twenty-two," Ben announced. "Sound travels a mile every five seconds. The storm is a little over four miles away."

"Four point four," Carlos breathed. "You divide the seconds by the time." He began to laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Can you tell when it'll get here?" Mal asked, frowning a little as she cautiously waited for another bolt to appear. Ben smirked. Was the daughter of Maleficent afraid of a little lightning?

"No," he responded. "If we had some wind gizmos, we could tell how quickly the wind is blowing and then distance over time is speed. And in Auradon, we've launched satellites so that we can track storms from space and see what direction they're moving and where they form."

"Woah," Evie whispered softly. Ben ripped his gaze off of Mal long enough to see that she'd looked back at him. The look on her face was one of pure amazement. Then, she glanced at Mal and her face twisted in something like pain. Ben turned back to Mal and raised an eyebrow to see her studying him.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"This is all common knowledge in Auradon, isn't it?" She asked, setting her sword aside dejectedly. "There's no way you just happen to know all this."

"Well," Ben shrugged his head back and forth. "It's taught in some schools but I doubt anyone remembers it. I know it because, well, there was this one story about a little girl who left her bear in a rainstorm and she was trying to figure out how far away the storm was so she could go grab it. It was like, the second grade. I'm probably the only person who remembers it. And then the distance and speed stuff, I know that from a physics book I reread last summer."

"And the compass?" Mal asked.

Ben laughed. "It's stupid," He warned her. "See, when I was younger, I really wanted to run off into the wilderness and leave Auradon behind. So I read all these books about people who survived being stranded or lost or people who struck out on their own. There was one about a guy who got lost in a jungle after a plane crashed. There was a sewing needle in a first aid kit he had and so he made a compass and figured if he went straight in one direction, it'd keep him from going in circles."

"So, you just remember everything you read?" Evie asked.

"Not everything," Ben shook his head. "But lots of things, yes. I like to read."

Mal wrinkled her nose up further and further as he spoke and crossed her arms as if his words were irking her. Ben tilted his head at her. "Do you have a favorite book, Mal?" He asked.

Mal turned away and hefted her sword back up into her arms before pulling a whetting stone out of her pocket and starting to scrape the edge of the blade with it. "I like the history books we had back on the Isle," she muttered, glaring at the ground.

Ben furrowed his brow. "Did you guys not have any storybooks sent over? Or fiction stuff? I know Auradon wasn't the best provider, but surely some things would have slipped in along the textbooks?"

Mal huffed and turned her head away from Ben's. Her face was an angry peach color. "I can't _read, _Ben," she admitted in a hiss.

Ben dropped his arm off the cart and stared at her in shock. "What?" he gasped. "But… Evie and Carlos can." He nudged Uma. "Can you?" He asked. Then, across the way to Jay, "Can you?"

Uma snorted and shook her head. "Only the menu items and some words in dutch," she replied.

Jay shook his head. "I know numbers," He replied.

Mal still wouldn't meet his eyes, instead brushing her hair to cover her face even more. Ben took a step forward and leaned a little bit to catch her hard gaze glaring at the ground. The moment she glimpsed him in her peripherals, she whipped away and turned her back to him. "Mal?" He asked.

"What, Ben?" She snapped, venom dripping from her tone. "I can't read. Sorry that not everyone on the Isle is as educated as you Auradonian filth."

"Mal," Evie whispered softly behind him.

Mal turned briefly to her friend, and then turned back away, still avoiding him, and continued sharpening her blade. "I didn't need to know how," She explained in a softer, more vulnerable tone. "I needed to know what was poisonous and how to use whatever magic I could inside the barrier. I needed to memorize the spells my mom told me and I needed to make sure my gang was protected and never questioned. When I showed up for classes, it was to hurl spitballs at students and mock the lower villains who taught the classes. We had Hostage Taking, Selfishness 101, things like that. I made Carlos do all my work."

Ben's gaze flicked over to Carlos, who had nodded twice to her final statement. Before his eyes, a picture spread of Mal, the pinnacle of evilness, trying to be everything her mother wanted her to be, throwing everything paper at Carlos. That was why Carlos knew math and reading and some sciences. Mal's education had inadvertently gone to him. "I could teach you," He offered before he gestured to Jay and Uma as well. "I could show you all how to read."

Uma scrunched her brow together. "I'd like that," She nodded. "And I'd want Harry to learn with me. Think I could learn things like you?"

"I'm sure you could learn more," Ben laughed. He glanced at Jay, but Jay didn't look too interested. Mal glanced up, pushing her hair back just enough to peer out at him, and then went back to sharpening her sword without a word. He wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no. He cleared his throat. "But you like history?" He asked.

Mal said nothing. He waited, but she remained tight-lipped. Finally, he turned away with a sigh. Some days, she was open to him. Others, she was just as closed off as Audrey.

"I better go calm everyone down," Evie hummed after a moment. "Uma, want to help me cover ground?"

Uma nodded and the two girls peered out from under the cart cautiously before they sprinted across the field. Ben furrowed his brow at them. It was as if they were afraid of the sky. Carlos left too - in the same manner - looking excited about a revelation he had just had. Now it was just him, Mal, and Jay.

He listened to Mal scrape her blade against the stone and sighed as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. One… two… three… at eighteen seconds, thunder shook the sky, inciting more panic from the others in the camp. He saw Mal flinch, but she made no sound. It occurred to him that if they had counted the time between the first and second lightning strikes, they could tell how fast the storm was moving. He'd suggest the idea to Carlos when he returned.

"I don't think this is a problem, but if the lightning happens to start a fire when it strikes, we'll have to put it out somehow," Ben mentioned, scoffing at the ground. It wasn't dry, per se, but would still probably blaze if prompted.

Mal glanced towards the clouds, finally pushing her hair back out of her face. "I'll put it out," She promised. "I know a spell. It's made for dragon fire, but it should work fine for normal fire."

Ben nodded and sat down with a sigh. "You know lots of spells?" He asked. Mal nodded but didn't expand. "Did your mom make you memorize them."

Mal glared at him. A real glare, one that made his entire body feel cold and hot at the same time. "Ben," She spat, and he knew she was being absolutely serious about this because she was using his real name and not something like 'Prince Charming' or 'Beast Boy', "don't ask me about my mother,"

Ben nodded and looked away from her. "Sorry," He apologized.

There was a deep silence. Ben supposed that Mal had gotten used to him responding with varying levels of sarcasm and now his sincerity was strange to her. He listened carefully as she set her sword aside and then sat down in her chair, still facing mostly away from him. There were several long beats of silence, wherein lightning flashed again in the distance and then, ten seconds later, thunder made Mal jump. He glanced over at her, watching her purple hair brush against the back of her chair.

Finally, she cleared her throat and turned her head a little more so he could see the elegant slope of her nose behind her hair. "Evie used to read books aloud when she was first learning. Carlos taught her because he noticed she was interested in chemistry. Mostly books on sciences and then some literature. She read Sleeping Beauty aloud once or twice. Didn't notice I was listening in for a long time and then just waited until I wasn't busy to start reading."

"She's a good friend," Ben gave a slight nod. "I'm glad you had that opportunity."

Mal snorted a little. She looked down the field and Ben followed her gaze to see Carlos dashing across the field holding a variety of metal tools. Ben stood up and held his hand out. "Carlos!" He called. "I had a thought on how to predict when the storm will get here."

Carlos reached the carts, panting, and then dropped a variety of things onto the ground. "Oh?" He asked. "I was going to build a thing for the wind."

"You should," Ben nodded. "Just in case we run into a storm with no thunder or lightning. But if you count the distance twice, so two lightning and thunder rounds, and also count the time between flash number one and two, we can figure out how much ground the storm covered in X amount of time, and then distance over speed is time."

Carlos tilted his head and then began to nod ecstatically. He sat down in his chair with his collection around him and began fiddling while also examining the skyline. It wasn't long before he pointed and said "There!" and began tapping out a count on his leg.

Mal continued looking out over the field. "Evie and Shrimpy better get back soon," She grumbled. "Don't want them to be stranded out in the field."

"Uma," Ben corrected automatically. Thunder cracked and Mal stiffened. Ben stood up and stepped out from under the cart's cover. He headed around to the side and pulled from a chest he'd been given two jackets that Evie had gifted him. One she'd made after measuring him, the other she had simply altered. The 'From Scratch' one was blue, and the other was brown. Ben wondered if she'd have a problem if he kept one or both when he left.

He pulled the brown jacket on, noting how it didn't quite fit right around his torso, and then stepped back underneath the cart. Mal was leaning forward in her chair, squinting down the field and looking a little concerned. Thunder cracked again and she jumped.

"That's three!" Carlos exclaimed. "So it's now point six miles away and before it was one. It was thirty seconds in between flash to flash, so it traveled point four miles in thirty seconds."

"So about another minute and a half?" Ben asked. He heard a plopping sound on the underside of the cart. Mal withdrew her foot from the edge of the cart, looking alarmed.

"You sure the carts will be safe, Mal?" Carlos asked, glancing up at the wooden underside in fear.

"Should be," Mal nodded. "I spelled them all."

Ben dropped his blue jacket, the one Evie had made, around her shoulders and pulled her hair out from under the collar. Mal almost jumped straight out and her hands balled into fists as she whipped her head around to see what he was doing. "Relax," He muttered under his breath, smoothing the shoulders down over her own petite ones. "There. That'll protect you from the thunder."

Mal did relax a little, though she stared at him with something that was either fearful confusion or confused fear. "Why do I need protection from the thunder?" She asked.

Ben shrugged, sitting back down. "You don't seem to like it much. Don't worry; it won't actually hurt you."

"I'm just not used to it," Mal scoffed, picking at the zipper on his jacket. "So I don't actually need this?"

"Nah," Ben shook his head. "Just thought I'd be nice and grab something for you." He didn't look at Jay or Carlos. He didn't want to see the judging looks in their eyes.

The rain started to come down in tiny little pitter-patters that made Ben relax into his chair with his eyes closed. The smell of rain and of wood and of Mal washed over him. This was nice. He could stay like this for a long, long…

Someone screamed.

He snapped to attention, looking around to see Evie and Uma in full sprint across the field. Evie. Evie had screamed. What was wrong? Was there a snake, or-

Mal jumped to her feet. "Come on!" She yelled, anxiety clear in her tone. Evie dashed towards them, face white, almost crying, while Uma slowed, looked confused. She held a hand up to the sky as lightning flashed overhead and thunder followed almost instantaneously afterward.

Evie crashed into Mal, flinging water off her hands and shaking from panic. Ben was baffled. "What's wrong?" He asked, staring at them in shock. "Was there a snake or something?"

Mal wrinkled her face up at him. "What?" She asked. "No, we could have dealt with a snake. But the rain. Doesn't it-"

"Guys!" Uma barked from where she stood, about five feet from the carts in the rain as it came crashing down, soaking her from head to toe. "It ain't burning!"

Evie stopped sobbing and stared at Uma in wonder. She examined her own skin, where a few raindrops had fallen, and then reached her hand out to catch a handful of water. It slipped through her fingertips, taking all dirt with it, and she let out a breath.

Mal frowned at the water outside and then, in a moment of determination, stepped out into the downpour. Jay had finally gotten to his feet to stare outside with his jaw gaping. She turned her face skyward, closed her eyes, and stood still while the rain hit her face. "Oh my gosh," she whispered. "It's clean."

Evie stepped out too, then Jay and Carlos. Evie began to laugh, clapping her hands to her mouth. "Auradon has clean rain!" She gasped. "Woah!"

Ben's hands shook a little as he took in the scene, and then he swallowed as he slowly got to his feet. "Don't get too cold," he warned. "You'll catch a chill."

Mal opened her eyes and looked back at him. A blinding smile spread across her face, making his heart twist. He raised an eyebrow in response to her and then nodded to the downpour. "You don't have this on the Isle?" He asked.

"Our rain burns our skin," Mal explained. "And it rots through wood. Dangerous."

Ben felt like he might be sick as he watched her take in the new experience with a smile. She turned away from him and then walked out further into the field. He watched her in the rain. Her hair stuck to her face and her smile grew all the brighter when raindrops hit her cheeks. She turned her face heavenward as if there was nothing more magical than rain.

Holy heavens above, she was beautiful. So beautiful he could feel his knees giving out as she slowly stole the breath from his lungs.

The storm grew thick and nasty, but all the VK's stayed out, spinning and laughing as they explored the new experience. Jay was the first to come back, shivering and blue with a bright smile on his face. Then, softly after, Mal returned, puffing a little as she collapsed into her chair. His jacket had served as a waterproof covering, so she wasn't too soaked, but her hair still stuck to her face.

"That," she gasped, "is magical,"

Ben chuckled and then leaned forward and picked up a lock of her hair, turning it in his hand. It curled when it was wet. Then, coming to his senses, he dropped it and turned back to the outside. "Yeah. I've always loved the rain."

"You love everything," Mal blurted out. Ben glanced sideways at her. If he was single, this would be the perfect moment for a pick-up line. If he was dating her, it'd be the perfect time to make her blush with something like "I love you."

Uma gasped as she stepped back into the cover of the cart, and Mal's mood soured just a tad as she turned away from Ben. Uma watched Ben out of the corner of her eyes as she collapsed back into her long-abandoned chair with a sigh. And Ben remembered what he had to do. Clue Mal in.

How to do it? How to break this fragile little thing they had going? He swallowed and looked back out at the rain. The sky had darkened, and he could barely see Evie and Carlos enjoying the downpour. The clatter was so loud that he wondered how, if he said anything, anyone would hear him.

Mal stood up and stood beside him, close enough he could drop his arm around her and pull her close if he wanted. Not if he wanted; if he could. If he wasn't already spoken for. "I love the rain," she whispered softly.

It was probably, he thought, the first time she'd ever admitted to loving something aloud.

"My daughter hates it," he whispered, keeping his eyes locked on the sky as a flash of lightning lit the sky up.

There was a very, very long silence. Except for the fact that Mal had put a foot behind her and he could feel the increasing confusion and hostility rising from her, he would have thought the statement had gone unnoticed. He finally dared to glance towards her and the sight was worse than he'd anticipated. Her lower lip was jutted out as she squinted at him and clouds of hurt had fogged over her eyes. Behind him, he could see Jay and Uma exchange an anxious glance while letting out simultaneous exhales. "What?" Mal asked.

"My daughter," Ben forced himself to say. "She, uh, she's a lot like her mom. Doesn't really like the rain very much. It used to scare her a lot, but now she just complains whenever it rains." Belle would complain no matter the day or time, but there wasn't a way he could phrase that frustration at the moment. He turned a little towards Mal and then glanced down at his jacket on her frame. "During rainstorms when she was little, she'd come and curl up in our bed. My wife would steal my sweaters and we'd read together."

It occurred to him too late that details like that might hurt her more.

Mal's face glassed over and looked down at the jacket around her shoulders. Her hands came up to tug lightly at the zippers. "You're married?" She asked, sounding very stifled.

"Yeah," Ben mumbled softly. "For seven years."

He waited to see what her full reaction would be. Mal's emotions were always puzzles. Her sarcasm made up for laughter and amusement. Her insults made up for tears or anguish. He watched her hands curl around the zipper of his jacket before she abruptly spun around, ripped it off her shoulders, and dropped it in his chair. She pushed her wet hair back and then ducked back into the storm. Ben followed her departure with his eyes. She glowed green until the darkness grew too thick and she had vanished from sight.

"You could have said that a bit better," Uma reprimanded softly. She reached for Mal's sword and ran her finger down the blade. She and Mal both liked using big, scary, threatening things to hide behind.

Ben nodded silently. "I guess," he muttered, and then picked up his blue jacket. Part of him wanted desperately to raise the jacket to his nose and take a deep whiff to see if she'd left behind any scent, but he knew now wasn't the time nor place.

"So, are you and your wife... close?" Jay asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. "Because earlier, you made it sound like you weren't."

Ben considered a response, twisting the collar of his jacket in his hands. When none came to mind, he shrugged and looked out to the rain. The rain that Mal loved. The rain she'd looked beautiful in.

Maybe if Audrey could find joy in small things like Mal could, he'd love her-

Well, he shouldn't be thinking like that.


	18. Westward Pt 2

In the morning, the ground was too spongy to move the carts without heaping piles of mud attaching themselves to the rims. Ben went around helping people pull their carts onto higher ground, and they all simultaneously decided that they'd park and wait for the day. Uma's large tent was erected, and then small children ran around with large sticks, chasing each other and playing swords. The rain had also brought a small benefit - in places where the mud had run, it had revealed dozens of different types of roots under the ground.

Ben helped Uma haul out the kitchen equipment, clean off what had been dirtied, and then they directed crowds of meandering people to the tedious task of digging up the roots. Ben, Harry, Gil, and several others scrubbed off the tough outsides as they came in with metal brushes, and then even more people shredded them and added them to heaping pots of water set directly onto the flames. Uma herself was busy, adding portions of shredded meat, a few dried fruits, and other items to the pots along with a variety of things like hickory salt, which Ben had decided he was going to get heaps of when he returned to the palace, and pepper. Some items came from the Isle, while others Uma had taken from their surroundings.

Gil told jokes as they worked, making the work fast and easy. Ben laughed, but his heart still felt heavy. Mal hadn't ever returned, and no one had seen her. He wondered if she had some sort of invisibility spell, but if she did, she wasn't looking for him.

"Ben," Uma called from her place by the pots. "Fetch me a ladle!"

Harry pouted. "Why he?" He demanded, sticking his lips out a tad.

"Because I need you to stay here and keep Jimmy from messing up," Uma nodded at a smaller boy who was fumbling with the large knives, "He can do the job well enough anyway."

"Sure thing, Uma," Ben nodded, setting his knife down and wiping his hands off before he set toward the large covered tent that had housed the equipment during the storm. His shoes stuck in the ground as he walked. Evie had finally gifted him so tennis shoes, which were much more comfortable than the boots he'd originally worn. He was wearing black pants and a blue shirt. He was grateful Evie was now catering to his normal colors and thought it was still strange to be out of suits, even though he'd been away for almost three weeks now.

As he reached for the tent flap, he heard Evie's voice from inside and paused, wondering if he should come back later. However, then he heard someone else, and couldn't stop himself from leaning forward to listen.

"No, Evie, that's not it at all," Mal huffed, clearly exhausted. "Listen, can you just leave me to sleep? I went all across the valley last night in the rain." Ben's fingers twitched. She was back?

"Well, that's your fault," Evie declared. "You can rest for a while, but we need you here. We needed you here. When everything is stable, you can run wherever and go wherever, but the VK's need us now. Remember? The kids we promised?"

"I know," Mal groaned. Ben could picture her face - exhausted and melancholy with a half-lidded stare. His fingertips grazed the canopy flap. He really should walk in now, and announce his presence and purpose before he overheard something he wasn't supposed to.

"Mal, what happened?" Evie asked in a soft tone.

There were several seconds wherein Ben pictured her shifting her weight while he tried to convince himself to enter, grab the ladle, and leave. His fingers itched towards the opening.

"I don't know," Mal finally admitted in this broken tone that Ben hadn't imagined could come from her. "I just… got so angry. Hurt and angry… I don't know. It was like I'd been lied to, but I knew I hadn't been. I guess I just let things get too big in my head, and then-"

"Ben told you?" Evie asked in a hushed whisper.

Mal burst into this crazed, frenzied laughter that made his skin crawl. "I don't know why - I should have assumed! I mean, yeah, there was no ring, but!" She choked a little. "I just… I thought for a while…"

She stopped. Ben's hands felt like ice. He knew exactly what she'd been thinking. That he'd liked her. That they had something small and special. That it was a beginning to something greater. He knew because he'd been thinking the same things too.

"You love him?" Evie asked, and that was the thing that brought Ben back to earth. He was eavesdropping. It was wrong. He shouldn't be invading their privacy like this.

"I don't want to!" Mal exploded. "This isn't fair - he has no right to be making me like this and-"

Ben seized the tent flap and opened it. Mal's rant cut short. He stepped out of the sunlight, ducking a little as he entered, and then kept his gaze firmly on the ground as silence reigned and he listened to Evie and Mal gape in shock. Then, finally, he let his gaze drift up. Evie looked a little green while Mal had gone glasslike again. She was like a statue as she examined him. He felt like some sort of bug under than piercing gaze, even without the magic.

"Sorry," He whispered. "I was coming in for a ladle for Uma. I wasn't going to start eavesdropping, but I was surprised to hear Mal was back and froze up. I apologize for invading your privacy."

"How much did you hear?" Mal asked, stone-faced. She wasn't focusing directly on him - more on a point over his left ear.

"I heard everything from you saying you'd gone across the valley," Ben admitted, letting his gaze fall again. "I shouldn't have listened to as much as I did - I was just surprised. Please forgive me."

There wasn't anything after that. Nothing but heavy breathing as Mal tried to keep from exploding at him and his heartbeat hammering in both his chest and his skull. Finally, Evie broke the silence by crossing to a post and picking up a ladle from where it hung. "There," She declared. "You may go now."

Ben put one foot behind him and then his gaze shot up to see Mal had turned away, towards the West. "Can I talk to you?" The words spilled out of his chest like he was throwing them up. "Please?"

Mal turned and looked over her shoulder to make sure she knew who he was talking to. Evie tensed up as she looked back and forth in between them. Then Mal inclined her head and Evie exhaled as she took a few shaky steps towards the opening of the tent flap. ben stopped her and replaced the ladle in her hands. "Can you take that to Uma for me?" He requested. "I promise I'll be back out to help her soon."

Evie nodded hastily and then practically tripped out into the open. Ben took a breath and turned to Mal. She ignored him, facing away again, and then sat down on a crate, where she began tightening her shoelaces. Ben approached her softly until he was standing behind her. He couldn't tell if she had heard him approach or not, but either way, she jumped when he began to speak. "I'm sorry," He apologized. "I never wanted to hurt you."

Mal didn't answer. She yanked the laces on her boots tight against her skin and Ben felt a lump arise as he observed the curve of her calf into her ankles. "Uma and Jay and Carlos told me that I had to be careful… had to make sure you knew what sort of commitments I had because they didn't want you hurting more in the long run. I didn't realize… I thought… I hoped that whatever was going on in my head, it was all me, but-"

"Going on in your head?" Mal interrupted, turning to furrow her brow at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I meant…" Ben stammered. "Just… there were these glances and I could always feel your eyes on me, and…" He trailed off, awkwardly.

"You like me?" Mal asked, squinting a little. She sounded bewildered by the concept. It was as if someone had informed her that all of the villain kids were to be invited to Auradon or if he'd announced it was time to take the barrier down.

"I can't love you," Ben blurted out. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I have a wife and a daughter - they depend on me. You're amazing; I hope you know that, but I made a commitment to Audrey, and I can't break that."

"Audrey," Mal repeated in a soft tone. Ben cast his eyes to her feet again. "Is she a princess?"

Ben swallowed. He really, really didn't want to tell her, but he didn't want to lie either. "She's Aurora's daughter," He admitted, flinching internally at how backward this all was. "You know, uh, Sleeping-"

"Beauty," Mal cut him off, spinning away with a hot, hard look in her eyes. "I've heard the name."

"I know how that must seem to you," Ben began slowly. "She's not like Stefan, though. I mean, she's close to her grandmother, but she's not a bad person. She just… likes lots of things and people and yeah." He stopped himself as he started to babble. Even though Mal was mostly turned away from him, he could see her face twist in confusion.

"And you love her?" Mal asked softly.

"Yes," Ben agreed, though the words sounded hollow on his tongue. "I do. Her and my daughter."

Mal nodded softly as if that made sense. She took a small breath. It almost sounded as if she wanted to cry, but Ben doubted Mal would ever. He sat down beside her and put a hand on her back. "Will you be alright?" He whispered.

Mal nodded. "Yes," she affirmed. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Ben tilted his head down. "Because I know you felt… whatever it was too."

"It wasn't anything," Mal shook her head. "It was foolishness. All primal bull crap." She brushed his hand away. "Love is a lie, anyhow, but it's a beautiful one. That's why people buy into it."

Ben raised an eyebrow at her as she stood up and brushed herself off. She turned to face him, crossing her arms as she did. And this answer gave Ben the truth. "Did you… fall in love with me?" He asked in a hollow tone. Part of him was devastated, but the other… amazed. Audrey had never fallen in love with him. They had just fallen together as if they were fated. This whatever-it-was was so much more powerful than anything he'd ever experienced with her.

"Of course not!" Mal snapped. Her eyes lit up with deadly fire as she balled her fists against her sides. "How dare you imply such a thing!"

Ben blinked slowly. "You thought I implied it."

There was a loud echo of something smacking against something else in the teepee, like a brief clap of thunder. Ben hadn't realized she'd hit him until he caught the glare in her eyes and then briefly felt the sting begin in his cheek. He put a hand up to the wound with a small frown, but it didn't hurt as much as what he was going through internally. "That wasn't very nice," He reprimanded.

Mal looked confused. "It wasn't supposed to be," She furrowed her brow.

Ben tilted her head. "Then why did you do it?" He asked.

Mal looked down at her hand for a second as if it had done something she couldn't explain. Then she looked back at him. "It doesn't matter," She spat. "I know now. You don't have to worry about leading me on and anyways, you weren't in the first place."

She tried to storm past him, but Ben seized her hand. Mal tried to yank it away, but Ben quickly tugged her forward before she could wrench away. "Did you hit me thinking I would stay away after that?" Ben asked, scoffing a little. "Listen, if you want me to stay away, fine, but this isn't the Isle of the Lost. And you're hurting - you don't have to slap me to get that out."

"I don't have to-" Mal sputtered, and ceased fighting with him. She slumped a little, bowing her head and looking frazzled. "I know this isn't the Isle, Ben. But… I hit you. It's over. You hate me now; that's how these things work!"

"You don't think Audrey has hurt me before?" Ben deadpanned. "Or that Harry has hurt Uma before or that you've hurt Evie, Jay, and Carlos? We don't just leave people behind, Mal."

Mal kept her head bowed, staring at the ground as she took long, slow, deep breaths. "I'm sorry," She apologized. "Is that what you want from me?"

Ben released her hands and she withdrew them to herself like she was guarding her heart against something. He put his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry," He whispered. "I wish I could make things better for you."

Mal shook her head and exhaled. "Please…" her voice broke a little. "Please, just… let me be alone."

Ben took five immediate steps back before he turned and headed towards the door. There was a time to grab her wrists and keep her from marching out and there was another to obey and depart in peace.

He returned to the fires and Gil whistled upon seeing his cheek. "Man, who hit you?" He called, a little too loud. A few people glanced his way, looking confused. Ben waved them all off.

"No one," he assured Gil as he sat down, pointedly ignoring Uma's piercing gaze.

He worked alone for several seconds and then a shadow fell over the table. He looked up right as someone tossed a cool, wet bundle to him before turning on their heel and walking away. It was Mal, that he knew alone from the purple and the feeling that his body had caught fire, but if he hadn't have had any other hints he would have assumed it was Evie or Uma because Mal wasn't exactly the person to toss a wet cloth his way for his face. He picked it up and discovered a bit of frost on the outside. He unwrapped a portion of it - there was ice inside? Where had she gotten ice?

It must be magic.

He felt even worse as he pressed the bundle to his cheek and continued working.

* * *

The first real alarm the caravan had had since Ben had been accepted as an equal came as they passed the halfway mark between Arendelle and Cinderellasburg. Ben had been sitting with Evie, watching as she sewed the outsides of a shirt together when someone gave a shout of panic and he became aware of dozens of people snatching up spears and bows and rushing to the north side of the camp. He stood up and immediately saw what the chaos was - someone in pink and orange had appeared on the side of the field they were pausing in. Ben started to dash over, weaponless, and almost toppled over Mal, who had apparently had the same idea but from a different direction. She shoved him a little as she struggled back to her feet but Ben seized her arm. "We can't let them kill them!" He declared urgently.

Mal nodded, and then somehow they were running side-by-side towards the commotion. As they got closer though, it became clear that it wasn't exactly turning into a massacre. Instead, it was turning into… a battle?

The figure in pink whirled around, wielding a sword with steady expertise. Their face was mostly covered, but the long hair was a giveaway to who it was.

"Lonnie?" Ben gasped upon nearing the circle she was defending herself from. Everyone paused and exchanged glances as the girl stopped, spotted Ben, and pulled off her face covering.

"Ben?" She asked, equally confused.

Mal nudged him. "You know her?" She demanded.

"Yeah. She was an old friend from school," Ben supplied. "I haven't seen her in a few years, though."

Lonnie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, not since Audrey went ballistic the last time." She stepped forward, keeping a hand on her sword. "What are you doing out here? Does she know you're gone? How'd you convince her to let you go out to the middle of nowhere with a bunch of girls involved?" Lonnie scanned up and down Mal's frame, looking startled.

Mal glanced between Ben and Lonnie, squinting more and more as Ben's cheeks and ears turned red. He shrugged awkwardly. "I, uh, she might know by now?" he suggested slowly. "What are you doing here?"

Lonnie turned back to the woods and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hey, guys!" She called. "Come on out! It's Ben!"

Mal leaned to the far right to watch as two other figures stumbled out of the trees. One was a tall boy with sandy blonde hair. The other had long, dark, curly hair and a blue hiking outfit. Ben felt his entire expression light up. "Doug!" He exclaimed. "Jane!"

"Who are these people?" Mal asked.

"Old friends," Ben smiled. He presented them to each other as Doug and Jane came closer. "Mal, this is Lonnie, Mulan's daughter, Doug, the son of Dopey, and Jane, Fairy Godmother's daughter. Lonnie, Jane, Doug, this is Mal. She's the daughter of Maleficent."

Doug let out a squeak and Jane's face went white. Lonnie raised up her sword in panic and with a brisk movement, shoved Ben away from Mal and behind her. "Why is she here?" Lonnie demanded. "How long has she been holding you?"

"Don't you think I would have called for help if I needed it?" Ben asked, annoyed. He pressed on Lonnie's hand to lower her blade down and returned to Mal's side. "Listen, Mal is one of the leaders around here and she commands everyone who holds weapons. I'm sure that if you ask very nicely, she'll tell everyone to quit aiming their arrows and brandishing their other weapons at you."

Mal looked like she would much rather tie them up and leave them somewhere like she'd left Ben. She glared at Lonnie's sword suspiciously. Ben nudged her, then gave Lonnie a pointed look. Lonnie carefully sheathed her sword, looking confused and cautious, and then cleared her throat. "Can you guys, uh, lower your weapons?"

Mal pressed her lips together and then gave a single nod. Everyone dropped their weapons. Lonnie looked amazed. Ben beamed at Mal and then made a gesture back to camp. "Go on, everyone. These guys are friends. You don't need to worry." He turned to Lonnie, Jane, and Doug. "Come on, guys. I'm going to introduce you to the other leaders. There's Uma, she's the daughter of Ursula, and Evie, she's the daughter of the Evil Queen. They're both super nice."

Mal stopped Ben before he could begin to lead them back. "Ah!" She snapped, sounding miffed. "I get the sword. She can have it back when she leaves."

Lonnie seized the hilt of the sword in panic. "This was my mother's. I'm not leaving it behind with a stranger."

"I'll take it," Ben offered. He held a hand out for the sword and then took a glance at Mal. "Unless you still don't trust me to take off with them?"

Mal clenched her teeth together. Ben tried hard to fight a smile as Lonnie slowly handed the blade over to Ben. Ben took it but kept a hand outstretched. "Knives too, Lonnie," he laughed. Lonnie begrudgingly removed two daggers and handed them to Ben.

"So, you know them?" Jane asked as they began their trek back to where Ben had left.

Ben nodded. "Yeah. They picked me up back in Charmington and I'm helping them relocate." As they passed back into camp, a little kid came up and took Ben's hand. Ben smiled and swung their arms back and forth as they continued walking. Mal took the knives from where Ben had tucked them under his arm as they went.

"How long have you been here?" Doug asked.

"Umm…" Ben tried to think back. He felt like he'd been here his whole life. "I think about a month."

"You've been our friend for twenty-eight days," the little kid babbled as they jumped over a tiny puddle in the ground. "And tomorrow it'll be twenty-nine."

"So yeah, a month," Ben nodded and then pulled the little kid's arm to help him leap over a puddle. "Has the palace said anything yet about me going missing?"

"No," Doug shook his head. "No. No one has any idea that you're gone."

"Wait," Mal blurted out. "The King went missing and no one knows?"

Lonnie shrugged. "Maybe they're trying to keep it on the down-low?"

"No," Ben shook his head. "You need the Queen's signatures to get anything done in the king's absence. That just means Audrey doesn't know I'm gone yet."

"How can she not know you're gone?" Jane asked, furrowing her brow. "Wouldn't they have told her?"

"Well, they might have tried, but she's queen. If she doesn't want people to talk to her, she won't be bothered," Ben let the little kid's hand go with a bright smile. He pushed his hands through his hair. "I know you guys think she's clingy, but she honestly has been pretty distant and lax since Belle was born."

"Because you have no friends that want to deal with her when they come over?" Lonnie asked with a snort.

"No," Ben protested. "No, just because she didn't have the energy anymore."

"Oh, please, Ben," Lonnie sighed dramatically. "The woman is vile and lazy and you know it, but you won't talk bad about anyone."

"That's Evie," Mal pointed ahead to where Evie was standing beside a cart, looking concerned. Doug let out a little gasping sound. "She's going to help me decide whether or not we want you tied up or not." She set a hand on Ben's arm and gave him a confused, worried look.

"What?" Ben asked, pausing as the other three carefully walked up to Evie. Lonnie shook her hand with a smile and a "Wow, your hair is amazing!"

"Is all that true?" Mal asked softly, staring at Ben as if she was trying to see through his soul.

"Is what all true?" Ben asked.

"Ben," Evie called. "Who is this?"

Ben had to leave to introduce everyone, but Mal stayed hovering by the cart, watching as people passed by and examining him from a distance. Her mouth has twisted into a deep frown.

It took a while to catch everyone up - how he had been captured and what they were doing and who these people were and what they were doing. It turned out that they were a lot closer to Charmington than Ben had anticipated and Lonnie had seen them from the road. It wasn't a problem, per see, but Evie, Uma, and Mal quickly decided to move onwards.

Night was falling, and the three were invited to stay for dinner. Ben usually ate with the kids and they all told jokes and silly stories, but Lonnie sat down beside him and he knew he was about to be interrogated.

"So," she began, biting into an orange with a furrowed brow. "Audrey doesn't know you're here. She's gonna pissed that you're working with three girls without her knowing."

Ben shrugged a little. "I might just focus on Uma," he mumbled. "She's committed. Maybe if I focus on her and Harry, the explosion won't be so bad." Then, he shrugged and took a bite of his food. "But if she doesn't ask then that's that."

Lonnie rolled her eyes. "Ben, when was the last time you talked with someone? Like friends? Someone not a servant or Audrey or Belle? And not for work."

Ben didn't answer. He could feel fire creeping into his veins though. A tell-tale sign someone was eavesdropping. Lonnie snorted when he remained silent and then got to her feet. "You can sugar-coat it all you want, but she's ruined your life, Ben."

Ben bit his cheek as she walked away. That wasn't true, he thought. It wasn't all Audrey's fault.

The icy-fire wasn't leaving his skin as he continued eating. Ben sighed and rolled his eyes. He kicked the chair Lonnie had vacated and nodded his head at it. "Come on," he invited. "I know you've got questions."

It took a few seconds, but slowly the purple-haired fairy moved from wherever she'd been to stand behind him. After a long pause, she finally dropped into the chair. Ben broke his roll apart. Uma had been experimenting with Mal's magic on food and they had discovered a wonderful multiplying spell that they could use on the non-perishable stuff. Suddenly, there was an abundance of flour, sugar, salt, and other base ingredients.

"That girl is interesting," Mal began blandly.

"Lonnie?' Ben questioned. "Yeah. She and I were good friends back in high school. She never liked Audrey much."

"Any reason why?"

"Audrey's a bit delicate. Not a very active person."

"That's a lovely cover-story, Ben. Now, what's the real reason?"

Ben picked at his plate a little and then set it down at his feet. "Audrey gets jealous. And defensive. She doesn't like me hanging around with other people much. Even for work."

"You?" Mal squinted at him and twined her fingers together. "But you love being around people."

"I don't much anymore," Ben nodded. "She, uh, used to get all… well, I mean…" He huffed a little. There wasn't really another way to describe what Audrey had done. "She used to threaten the people I'd hang out with. And she'd hire people to follow me around if she wasn't invited. She was kind of obsessed during our early dating years. Lonnie got threatened, and so did her parents. That's why she doesn't like her much."

"That's sadistic," Mal declared. "And that's coming from a villain kid."

Ben snorted. Her humor somehow pushed through a barrier in his head, and he found himself spilling out a few more secrets. Things he'd tried to brush under a rug in his head so he wouldn't have to look at them. "She once had a fit when I took my mom out to lunch. And when I turned twenty-one, the very first thing she wanted me to do was to get a tattoo of her name."

"Did you?" Mal asked.

Ben shook his head with a little snort. "No. I'm not one for needles. She didn't speak to me for a week after I said no." He straightened up. 'But she's not like that anymore. Ever since she had Belle, things have been different."

"Ah yes, she's become the wife that hasn't realized you're gone after a month," Mal snorted, eyeing him suspiciously. "What's up with that?"

Ben picked up a stick from off the ground nearby and snapped it in half. He began picking all the bark off of it, debating how much he should tell her. "We live separate," He admitted. "She has her area of the castle and I have mine."

"But you still love her?" Mal asked, spitting out the word 'love'.

"Of course I do," Ben affirmed.

"No. Say it," Mal pinched her lips together. "You always make it out to be about duty or you brush the question off. Tell me you love her. Not just because you promised you would or just nod and pretends that's the same thing."

Ben opened his mouth. He could feel the words on the tip of his tongue, but somehow they wouldn't come out. 'I love Audrey', he wanted to assure Mal. 'But I don't', his heart protested.

He closed his mouth. "Do you want to know the truth, then?" He asked softly. "Because I haven't seen Audrey in two months now and she didn't even look at me the last time I went to see her. When she first came to live in the castle, she had half of it redecorated, including our bedroom, and told me where I was and wasn't allowed to go. Then, when she was six months pregnant with Belle, she asked me to sleep in another room. In my own castle, I'm only allowed outside, in my office, in the guest areas and my own bedroom. I have to set up appointments to see her."

He could see the varying shades of bafflement crossing Mal's face, and he didn't blame her. His life felt like a soap opera whenever he thought about it too much. He shook his head and tossed little splinters of bark to the ground before continuing.

"I used to have lots of friends and be pretty popular, but things… fell apart. She doesn't want me around my own parents, taking meetings, playing with little kids, and every once in a while even gets upset if I take Belle somewhere. I tried to consolidate her at first, but that obviously worked really well. Most of my old friends won't hang out with me because of things she's said and done.

"Belle is almost exactly the same as her, and it's really irking me, but if I discipline her too much, then Audrey gets mad at me. The girl is just… she's so spoiled! And she doesn't like anything. No water, no fresh air, no hot or cold. She's always cross and begging for candy and goodness knows I love her because she's mine but then she's not really… mine."

"Why on the Isle are you still with this woman?" Mal asked, shaking her head as if it were spinning. "She's a monster."

"No," Ben disagreed. "No. No, she's not. And… she was just everything I thought I was supposed to have. She was royal, pink, pretty outgoing and popular when we were teens and yeah, she was pretty… and we'd known each other since we were kids. I was hoping I'd fall in love with her."

"Isn't this supposed to be the land of true love?" Mal demanded, rising to her feet. "Of dreams-come-true and happy-ever-after?"

Ben stared at the ground, digging his toes in a little. "Of course," He nodded. "But sometimes… we look in the wrong places for love." He glanced up at Mal through his eyelashes.

"In the wrong places?" Mal repeated as if she couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth. Ben sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"I… don't really want to talk about it," He admitted. "I still have to go back eventually. Maybe after all of this… I might try and make changes. Tell her she can't spend all day in that stupid spa and make Belle behave and maybe I'll even pull them out of the palace. If Audrey gets mad… she can just leave me." He shook his head. Part of him honestly wouldn't mind if she left. It'd probably be good for her to not have him allowing whatever atrocious behavior she wanted to put on.

If she left, would he come back here? To Mal?

He glanced up at the purple-haired family and shook his head. "I know this probably all sounds trivial to you. I mean, I haven't heard much about the island, but I've heard some things, and…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm sorry.

Mal tilted her head to the side. "Yeah," She agreed softly. "It was hard, but you've been through lots too. All of that… it stinks." Ben shrugged, and Mal sat back down beside him, slowly. "And I understand…. what it's like to hope someone will love you back."

Ben found himself immediately getting to his feet. "Mal, I can't love y-"

"I wasn't talking about you," Mal snapped, pushing her hands through her hair and turning her face away from him. "I could stand to care less about you. My mother, Ben. Maleficent."

Ben slowly retook his seat. Mal looked like she was being… wracked with pain. Her hands shook as she took several long, deep breaths. "I… always wanted her to be proud of me. To love me back. And so I kind of understand why you would have kept at it for so long with Audrey. I mean, I may be wrong, but…" Her mouth twisted into a bitter line as she bit her lip. Her eyes squeezed shut, but he could still see green light ebbing out under her lids. She ran a hand from her forehead, down through her hair, and then latched onto her shoulder as she kept focusing on her breathing. Ben pulled his chair closer, so her knees were touching, and then tugged down the zipper on his jacket. It was his favorite blue one, but he still pulled it off his shoulders and then swept it over hers. Mal closed her eyes a little as she took deep, steady inhales.

"I guess you guys have it pretty rough on the Isle," He sympathized.

Mal nodded. "We weren't exactly running from comfort, Ben," She snorted. She rubbed her sweating, trembling hands down her knees and then clutched a little at the zippers on his jacket to pull them closer. "My mother… she demanded a lot. I had to live up to her standard of evil, but it wasn't like I could curse everyone. And you may have noticed I'm small and not exactly intimidating. So I had to learn to be vicious instead. There's a lot of things… in the back of my head… I don't even want to think about it with you or the other Auradon kids around because they're not exactly things to be proud of. At the time I wasn't really focusing on the people I was hurting. Every single thing I did, I was always looking over my shoulder to see if I'd finally done the thing to make her proud. I was chasing something impossible."

Ben hummed in understanding. "What sorts of things?" He asked. Not because he particularly wanted to embarrass her or make her uncomfortable. Not so he knew what he was getting into, being friends with her. And not so he could have her prosecuted, certainly. If anything, it was because he was curious to see… how far her trust would stretch.

Mal looked back up at him and examined his gaze. "Murder," She whispered. Ben didn't let the surprise and momentarily disgust enter his gaze. She raised an eyebrow.

"I was expecting that to be relatively near the top," he shrugged.

"Ouch," Mal snorted hollowly.

Ben gave her an exasperated look. "You know I didn't mean it like that," He reprimanded her.

"I'm not your daughter," Mal deadpanned, sounding empty through the sarcasm. "Don't take that tone of voice with me." She rubbed her brow before continuing. "Dismemberment. I set places and possessions and people on fire. If my mom had someone brought into Dragon Hall, it was my job to, well, get creative as I killed them. Snuck poisons into kid's lunches at school. Fought brutally so no one would question me or come after me. People were afraid. None of the villains my mom worked with ever talked back to me and my teachers never complained about all the school I missed or whatnot. People got out of the way when I walked by." Mal gestured around them with her mouth pressed into a thin line. "They still do," She sighed.

"So what changed?" Ben asked, running a hand down his chin and glancing over to where Evie, Jay, and Carlos were talking with the newcomers avidly.

Mal blinked. Her gaze became distant as if she was looking into another time, and then she reached down and began fiddling with her boot strings again. "My mother," She admitted. "I realized that I couldn't make her proud - ever. Even if I destroyed the entire world and killed every person alive, it never would have been enough for her. She just… doesn't have the ability to love me because…" She bit her lip and then shook her head.

"You don't want to tell me?" Ben asked.

"Well, I didn't, but now that you've asked I feel like I have to," Mal chuckled without humor. Ben knocked his knee against hers lightly, and she sighed. "It was because she was like everyone else. She couldn't ever love me because she was just as terrified as everyone else. Terrified of what she'd created. She thought that so long as I kept chasing after her love, she'd have me under her control, and that was why she never gave me anything back. But I kept getting scarier, and I didn't realize how much I scared her until she broke down one night when I corrected her on something. That was when I realized."

"So, let me get this straight," Ben clapped his hands together. Mal flinched at the loud sound. "You're telling me that Mal - Mal Bertha - Pixie Mal who can't read and who is scared of thunder-"

"I am not scared of thunder!" Mal snapped, glaring at him.

"-Who held the barrier open for kids to escape and who thinks rain is magical and who refuses to swallow her pride and help Uma out with anything, that Mal terrified Maleficent into a breakdown? Maleficent, Mistress of all Evil?" Ben leaned back into his seat, smiling despite the formerly heavy mood. "I don't buy it."

"I drank blood!" Mal snapped, though a grin stretched at her mouth too. "I burned people alive with my gaze alone - through the barrier! Gaston ran from me! How dare you doubt me!"

"I think you must be talking about someone else," Ben snorted, though his stomach twisted with the extra details. "That sounds more like something Uma would do. Are you sure you're not trying to steal her thunder?"

"Oh, wow, Uma would fish in the poisonous lake and eat the fish raw. I literally ate a piece of a man's throat after ripping it off with my teeth. It never even touched my hands," Mal scoffed, crossing her arms.

"You're too small and cute for such a vicious act," Ben waved her off. "You're practically a little kid. Let me know if you need help reaching the top shelf for your sippy cup."

Someone burst into crazed laughter behind Mal and her face bloomed bright red as she turned and watched Harry Hook hit the ground, heaving for breath. Across the way, Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked incredibly surprised while Doug, Jane, and Lonnie's expressions held a mix of fear, disgust, and shock. Ben hadn't realized how loud they had been getting.

Mal turned back around, looking sheepish, and whispered: "I can't believe you got me to admit all that out loud in front of you." She covered her hands with her face. "God, you must be disgusted. I'm so sorry."

"Well, I don't exactly want morbid details," Ben sighed, "But it's in the past. And hey, I'm proud of you for talking."

"If Auradon knew I was ever in your presence, they'd want to hunt me down and lynch me," Mal muttered. "If they knew I existed period, then-"

"I'd like to bring you to Auradon one day," Ben interrupted. Mal was so surprised she almost fell out of her chair. "When I get home… I want to fix things. Clean up the Isle so that any new kids who are born there don't rot for another twenty years. Take better censuses and lock villains away in cells who are at the head of the killing. I could use someone who knows what they're doing on the Isle to tell me where to start."

Mal snorted. "You want to give Auradon a taste of Evil," She pointed to herself, "With me? They'll never let you out of the palace again."

"I'm the king. I can do whatever I want," Ben replied.

"Except go where your wife tells you not to," Mal deadpanned.

Ben rubbed his hands together with pinched lips. "I'm going to try and patch things up there, too. I think I just went… numb to everything bad. Being out here… I like people. I like hard work. I like little kids who want to cuddle and rain and feeling like I have a purpose. So when I have to go home… I'm not going to let things be the way they were."

Mal nodded slowly. "I hope you do," She whispered. "But, uh, be careful. You might go back and get busy and become… complacent again."

"I doubt it. Especially if I have a spunky someone to remind me of the type of king I promised to be," He bumped Mal's knee again. "You could come back and be part of the solution."

"Me?" Mal asked, wide-eyed and regretful. "Part of your solution? You really think I could survive in a place filled to the brim with prissy pink princesses?" She shook her head. "I'm not one of those ladies of the Court, Ben. I'd be a big fake or a big menace. And besides," She nodded to the camp around them. "They need me here. I'm their big defense. Everything I've done and everything I can do… I could fend off entire armies and no one else would have to lift a finger. I can't leave them that unprotected."

"No one will attack you, Mal," Ben put a hand on her wrist. "And if you worry, I could send in an army from the kingdom to protect you. I know there's no way I can convince you that they won't turn on you, but… you could leave whenever. Trust me when I say Auradon has little to no clue how to imprison a dragon. You could fly back and forth."

Mal took her hand away from his. A tiny blush had bloomed into her cheeks. "Thank you for the offer," she began, "But given the recent… circumstances between us, I think it's best that I don't go anywhere Audrey could meet me. If she can't stand Lonnie, who was holding her own against my soldiers pretty darn well, then there's no way she'll stand me, the daughter of her mom's enemy."

Ben's mouth closed. Unfortunately, there was no way he could argue with that. He sighed, leaning back into his chair, defeated. Mal twiddled her thumbs slowly. "I hope…" she began in a tone not far off from a snail's pace. "That you do get things patched up with Audrey. Maybe I can visit then, one day."

"When you're over me?" Ben asked softly. Mal pinched her lips at him and growled.

"I am over you," She snapped. "I was never hung up on you to begin with. It was all nonsense."

Ben shook his head. "It amazes me," he sighed, "How easily you deny things. Your first instinct is to snap, and then apologize. Don't you remember that I was there?"

Mal scoffed and pulled his jacket back off her. She dropped it in his lap and then stood and stretched. "I'm beat," She announced. "Evil dreams, Ben. I hope you're ready to move out tomorrow."

"You mean you're going to go sit on top of Evie's cart and strike fear into the hearts of all who pass," Ben sighed, rolling his eyes and then pulling his jacket back on. "I'm very impressed with your avoidance skills. Well, goodnight Pixie."

"You do not have permission to call me that," Mal glared. Ben snorted and closed his eyes. He listened to her trek off, but could still feel eyes on him. Human eyes - eyes that weren't enchanted or enhanced. He peeked out and glanced over to where Evie, Jay, Carlos, Doug, Lonnie, Jane, Uma, and Harry were all glancing over, lips mouthing as they examined him. They probably couldn't tell he was squinting through his lashes from here. But it didn't matter.

* * *

"So, you're really okay to stay here?" Jane asked uncertainly the next morning. Everyone was packing up around her and Ben was lifting teepee poles into Mal's cart. His shirt was rolled up, showing the extra muscles he'd gained the last month, and he was sweating his own personal downpour.

"Yeah, I am," Ben smiled, reaching for more poles to load up. "I'm going to take them to the unused lands over there, help them set up, and then I'll be back in the palace to give them an official status."

Jane chewed on her cheek. "Will you be bringing back anyone?" She asked.

"I asked Mal if she'd want to come and help me in Auradon," Ben sighed, grunting a little as he wrestled a pole against a rough edge. "But she doesn't want to leave."

"Audrey wouldn't like that," Jane mumbled, going quieter near the end of her sentence. She looked at Ben with big, wide doe eyes. "Are you cheating on Audrey?"

"No," Ben replied flatly. "And if Jay or Carlos or anyone said I was, they're lying. The reason I talk with Mal more is because she was the person to bring me into this. There is nothing else and will be nothing else."

"Well, no one said you were cheating," Jane explained uncertainly, "But Carlos told me that you guys were into each other and that she was devastated to learn about Audrey, and then Harry and Uma have a bet going-"

Ben slammed the last of the poles into the cart in a fit of rage. "Uma and Harry? Really?" He snapped and shook his head. "No, no, we're not. And the reason Mal was angry is because it was Sleeping Beauty's daughter." He kicked at one of the canvases to spread it out more and then knelt down to begin rolling it up. "Whatever. I actually do want to stay out here, Jane, and I promised I would help them anyways. It's been really great - I love the fresh air and all the things I get to do around here. And the kids are fabulous - I wish I could take them all home with me."

"We could arrange that!" Someone yelled, walking up to him. It was Uma, and she was wearing a blue bandanna with a bright blue outfit. "I'm sure they'd love to spend their days up at the palace with whatever you've got up there."

"I'm not sure my wife would be open to that right off the bat," Ben frowned. "But I'm going to be making some changes to our family, so we'll see how things go."

"Bringing in the homewrecker?" Uma asked, leaning against Mal's cart. Ben glared at her.

"No," He snapped, "And by the way, I don't appreciate you and Harry betting on us." He leaned against the cart to start her in the eyes.

"Eh," Uma shrugged. 'There was a reason we didn't tell you." She reached up and pulled her bandana out, looking exasperated. Then, she began fishing for pins in her blue hair, trying to let it down. "Hey, listen, Gil is having trouble with the canopy Carlos made. Carlos is busy, but I know you kinda oversee everything now, so I was wondering if you know how to take the thing down?"

"I don't oversee everything," Ben rolled his eyes. "But yeah, I do know how to take the canopy down. It's pretty cool how many new things they've made since I first got here."

"Just wait," Uma laughed. "We can't wait to start putting down permanent houses." She pulled the last of the pins out and her long blue locks fell down over her shoulders and were promptly swept away by a light breeze.

Ben smiled as the sun glinted off her hair. "Your hair looks super clean," He laughed. "Did you wash it last night?"

"Oh," Uma ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I did. And now it's all curly." She held a lock up as proof.

Ben extended a hand. "May I?" He asked. Uma extended the lock and he brushed his fingertips down it. "Wow," He commented with an even brighter smile. "Like silk. Good job."

Something flew into the cart with a crash that made Ben, Jane, and Uma jump. Ben spun around to see that three large tents had all been flung in at the same time and that Mal was storming away with smoke rising from her hair. Either someone besides him had set her off and lived, or she was suddenly mad at him. People squawked and jumped out of her way as she stormed away.

"Someone's the jealous type," Uma rolled her eyes. "She and Harry are more alike than they think."

"She and you are more alike than you think," Ben rolled his eyes. "Don't think I don't notice how you get closer to him every time Evie walks by." Uma stuck out her tongue in response. Ben sighed and glanced to where Mal had vanished. "She's gotta help me pull this, so I'll talk her out of her spout then," He decided. "Hopefully everyone stays out of her way until then."

* * *

"What's up with you hurling tents around?" Ben demanded as Mal stalked over to pick up the cart handle with him. She glared at him as she bent down and together, they hefted the cart upright. Jane, Doug, and Lonnie had left to go back to Doug's family home for the last of their vacation and the Islanders were continuing their trek. "Are we playing the silent game?" He asked.

Mal balanced the cart on her leg and pulled her leather gloves out of her pocket without a word. Ben's blue ones were already on. Evie had made dozens for people to protect their hands with as they walked.

"Listen, I have to deal with Audrey getting jealous of me at every turn and she's my wife. It's not exactly fair that you, a close friend, are also offended if I tell Uma her hair is nice," He leaned down to be in her field of vision. "I tell Evie she looks great all the time."

"I know that!" Mal snapped. Steam wafted up from her hair. "And I'm not… why would I be jealous?"

"I like your hair too, Mal," Ben murmured softly. "I like the purple. It suits you and it's pretty."

Mal scoffed and picked up a strand of her hair. She had dirt in it, and she'd been working hard, so it clumped together with sweat. But it was still vibrant purple and beautiful. Just dirty. "My hair's not clean like Uma's is," She mumbled under her breath.

"So wash it?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not that big of a deal. I could show you how."

Mal flipped her head to the other side as they began to trek along. Every so often, her hand would come up to brush away at the lock of hair she'd first picked at. Ben watched her every time she did, watching her nails catch in her hair, and about a mile into their hike it suddenly clicked in his head.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, making Mal jump a little. "You're upset because I touched Uma's hair." He raised another eyebrow at her. "That's rich. What's the big deal?"

"It's not a big deal!" Mal's face turned bright red. "And I don't care whose hair you touch. Go touch everyone's hair, for all I care. You don't mean anything to me!"

"Mal," Ben sighed, "Can we skip the part where you hope that I'll believe you because you're yelling your lies and just get to the part where you tell me how I can help?"

Mal stayed stubbornly silent. Ben finally sighed again. "Listen," He began. "Rinse your hair out. Then you can use an egg to get out all the grime. Just rub it in, leave it for a few seconds, and rinse it right out. After that, put a little oil in your hair and comb it around so that when all is said and done your hair feels nice and silky. Audrey does it all the time at home, except she uses shampoo. This book I read talked about different types of things you can use to keep clean in forests and eggs have lots of proteins that are good for your hair."

"I'm blocking you out," Mal grumbled, focusing on the gravel of the road. "Leave me alone, Ben."

"You don't have to act like Audrey when I'm miles away from her," Ben pointed out.

Mal's angered expression faded immediately into guilt. "Sorry," She grumbled. "Thank you for the advice. My mom was never really big on beauty tips, and I never really had a sister or anything."

"That's okay," Ben shrugged. "Audrey… she's a princess at heart. She used to talk my ear off about all this stuff when we were teens. I guess I absorbed some of it."

They went over a bump and Mal's hands slid about six inches into Ben's before she pulled them back to herself. "You don't like her, do you?" She asked.

"We were arranged," Ben said by way of explanation. "There wasn't really another choice." It wasn't really an answer, but it was easily than saying no. Mal liked to yell and scare people into submission, but he liked to avoid the question. Neither of them bought the other's gig.

He laughed a little when he thought of something that might amuse her, and slid one of his hands down to knock against hers. "You know, I never actually proposed," He laughed. "She picked her own ring and mine, and then picked the date and told me to show up."

Mal snorted half-heartedly. "What a rip," She scoffed. There was a brief pause, and then she looked up at him. "So, what, you've just been… faking it since then?"

Ben's expression fell and he gave a little half-shrug. He wanted to try and avoid the comment, pretend it hadn't come up, but something inside of him was tired of lying and avoiding the problem. "I guess," He whispered.

Mal nodded and then focused her gaze ahead. "I kinda wish I hadn't learned about her," She whispered, equally honest. "You're making me think… things."

"Don't," Ben advised. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Mal nodded, and they didn't say another word to each other for the rest of the trip that day.

* * *

The night the passed out of the Arendelian barrier was the most joyous of any night Ben had spent with the company. They left 'Official Auradon' behind around noon and hiked onwards until Evie and Mal discovered a large freshwater spring with small clearings scattered in between large trees, and everyone promptly dropped their supplies in joy. Carts began to be dismantled, and before night arose, there were small skeletons of structures as the Isle folk went to work to build themselves a safe haven.

A large bonfire was created - partially to help clear underbrush, and partially to light up their celebrations. Mal multiplied the honey that Uma had and everyone feasted on roasted vegetables, various types of meat, and bread dripping with honey. She helped unload her cart so people could begin setting up tents, teepees, canopies, and lean-tos, and then vanished. Ben didn't have much time to wonder where she'd gone. He was busy helping everyone all over the camp. Carlos was especially busy as he rushed around, helping people organize themselves and where they would go.

When everything they had was set up and dismantled and organized, the sun was setting, and the celebrations were continuing. Ben played with the group of children, roaring upon request and wrestling and throwing them into the air until, one by one, they tired out and dozed off in the soft grasses or in piles of blankets within teepees. Then, the adults and teens of the camp danced beside the fire, laughing as they celebrated the end of their tedious journey.

Uma handed Ben a drink of something from the Isle as he passed by. He made sure to water it down before he tried it, but the whatever-it-was still made him dizzy after a few minutes and several sips. He dumped it out on a bush and returned the glass to Uma without a word.

Ben had just collapsed onto a bench beside Uma when Evie appeared in front of him and offered him her hand. "Can you dance at all?" She asked. "Any style?"

"Yes," Ben confirmed, getting back to his feet. "I can waltz, I can foxtrot, I can do lots. What were you thinking?"

"I've always wanted to waltz with a prince," Evie confided. "So before we lose you forever, I want to steal that chance."

Ben laughed and let her pull him to a mostly clear area of grass and earth. He put his hand on her waist and took her other before they began to sway around, him leading her as her smile beamed through the darkening night. Ben was a little rusty - he and Audrey hadn't danced in years and he didn't exactly have many reasons to keep up the practice. Still, people paused here and there to watch as he led Evie through presents and turns and steps. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry pull Uma into the shadows to try and mirror his movements, and behind her, he could see someone perching on the top of a structure, looking down on all.

He stopped, bowed a little to Evie, and then laughed as she thanked him. Evie was beaming - he didn't think he'd ever seen her so happy. She went to Dizzy, who had clapped a little whenever Ben twirled her older friend around, and together the girls romped off to the bonfire.

Ben slipped into the shadows and went to the base of one of the skeletal structures of dwellings that they'd erected. He looked up at the dark figure up above and laughed a little. She was so high up that her boots scarcely brushed his chin. He debated teasing her, and decided to dive in. They'd been so honest the last few days. "I think you have a height complex," He called.

"I think you seek to justify your presence down there," Mal returned. She leaned down, and somehow, he could see her face even though the darkness. His chest felt tight - she looked lovely. He felt like she was seeing her for the first time all over again. "Did you wash your face?" He asked, choking a little.

Mal shrugged and then jumped down. It was quite a dramatic difference to have the top of her head where her shoes had previously been. Ben took a breath as she leaned against the structure. "Did you need something?" She asked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to dance?" Ben asked, gesturing to where Uma, Harry, and others were stumbling through shaky waltzes with boisterous laughter.

Mal furrowed her brow. "I can't dance," She informed him.

"Can you stand to follow me for a minute or two?" Ben asked, chuckling. "It's just a little circle and maybe a turn here or there."

He offered her his hand. Mal looked down on it. Then she carefully put her hand in his. Her hands were tough and strong.

They went out to a quiet, grassy area, and Ben leaned in to whisper instructions in her ear as he began to lead her in a tiny circle. Her hair smelled nice, he suddenly realized. It was nice and… soft. He paused, released the hand he held in his, and then trailed his fingers down through her hair. She'd washed it. It was soft and floaty and would probably glint in the sunlight tomorrow. Mal tilted her head into his touch.

"Sorry," He apologized, eyes flickering between her hair and her eyes. "Your hair looks really nice."

"It's dark," Mal snorted. "You can't see it."

"I can feel it," Ben mumbled, threading his fingers through her hair a little. "It feels nice." She fidgeted with her hands, unsure what to do with them, and then put them against his chest.

It occurred to him he had one hand on Mal's back and the other twisting through her hair.

"I feel weird," he whispered, trying to find the courage to take his hands back.

"Feel like what?" She asked, equally soft.

"I feel like… like singing your name," Ben admitted, focusing on her eyes. "You just look so… beautiful."

"Don't sing," Mal warned him, eyes growing wider. "We wouldn't want anyone to go deaf."

"I'll have you know I can sing rather well," Ben frowned. He took his hands back and they retook their waltz stance. As they started dancing through their small clearing, Ben started singing under his breath. "I met this girl that rocked my world like it's never been rocked and now I'm livin' just for her and I won't ever stop. I gotta know which way to go, c'mon, give me a sign. You've gotta show me that you're only ever gonna be mine. Don't wanna go another minute livin' without you, cause if your heart just isn't in it, I don't know what I'll do."

"What song is that?" Mal asked, smirking a little and blinking slowly.

Ben's mouth went a little dry. "I, uh, don't know. I kinda just made it up on the spot."

Mal stopped spinning in his arms and withdrew a little. "Interesting lyrics," She mumbled. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "I'm just a little… overcomplexified."

"That's not a word," Mal immediately reprimanded him. She ruffled a hand through his hair briefly. "But I'll forgive you because you're cute."

Ben couldn't remember the last time he had felt this dizzy. He put a hand to his forehead and then Mal started to automatically lead him to the bench he'd previously vacated. "Do you know what Uma was giving out?" He asked, stumbling over the hard consonants as he said them.

"No," Mal shook her head. "It tasted a little like fisherman's alcohol, but I can't be sure. It's been a while since I had any."

"How strong is it?" Ben moaned.

"You'll feel it in the morning," Mal assured him. Ben groaned and ran his hands through his hair. Mal kept her eyes on him. "I guess that was kind of obvious though, huh?" She suddenly broke out into giggles. "Hey… You can be King Obviously Cute!"

"That is my legal name," Ben smiled, leaning his head against his hand as he watched her laugh. "What should we call you, Queenie?"

Mal laughed some more and then leaned forward into his chest. She was pretty shaky too. He wondered how he hadn't noticed it when they were dancing. Ben started playing with her hair. "I like your hair like this," He whispered. "I like clean and soft things."

"I like you like this," Mal slurred, closing her eyes against the harsh lights of the fire and keeping close to his chest. "It's easier to forget you're not married when the world is like this."

"I think you're drunk," Ben announced. "I think I'm drunk too. I think we should probably leave each other so we can both talk like normal people tomorrow."

"Why do we need to leave?" Mal huffed. "I like how warm you are." She balled her fists up into his shirt and Ben had this sinking feeling in the back of his mind that told him this wasn't going to end well.

"Because I don't want to cheat on Audrey," he told her, taking her hands off the fabric. "I promised I'd love her."

"But that doesn't technically count," Mal yawned. "Because you don't. And either way, you promised to love her so long as she loves you. That's what Evie told me about the vows Auradon uses. She doesn't love you like we do here."

"We?" Ben repeated, squeezing her hand.

Mal looked up and he saw desire and curiosity and everything he'd never seen in Audrey's eyes looking back at him from hers. She squeezed his hand back. He tilted his head. "You're right," He conceded. "I don't love her. I don't like weak girls."

Mal chuckled this tiny little chuckle that made her seem like the most irresistible person on the planet. "Want to hear my theory?" She whispered, sounding surprisingly coherent. "I don't think you ever got over me. I don't think you can, and I think you know why."

"That's true," Ben mumbled. "What about you? Do you think we're in love?"

"I don't know what love feels like!" Mal laughed, sudden and boisterous and throwing him off his game. "How would I know?"

"I don't know either," Ben mumbled. Her breath smelled like she'd been chewing on a mint plant. When had he gotten this close?

Mal was suddenly closing her eyes. The bonfire had started to die, so it was dark. It was dark and her skin was tough and her hair was soft and her eyes were green and her breath was minty and she was dangerous to everyone except him. It was late and he was drunk and she was too but her hands were slipping up inside his shirt and his were pulling at her waistband and he already know they were going to go way too far tonight but he couldn't do anything to stop it. She was pale and she was purple and she let out a little sigh that ghosted past her lips and onto his before he brushed his lips against hers and felt his brain explode with colors and sound and lights. His heart swelled up in his chest.

"Wow," Mal whispered against his lips; a tickle that lit a fire inside of him that had his hands slipping down even further.

And to be honest, he didn't remember much after that.

* * *

When he woke up, everything hurt. His arms, legs, head and everything. And it was cold.

Ben sat up, rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes. He was lying on a patch of grass with a little river running in front of his feet. Tall trees made the light cast odd patches of light on him and a collection of large, leafy plants surrounded him. He could see the place where he'd obviously come through. Beside a little trail he'd beaten down to reach this area, his shoes and socks were thrown haphazardly to the bushes. Everything else was mixed up in a heap that was luckily away from the river.

He looked down at himself, slowly connecting the dots. Metaphysically and literally. He traced bite marks up and down his arms, across his collarbone and down his chest. His shirt would cover them all. He felt his mouth, but it only felt sore, not swollen.

Ben closed his eyes as a deep pain set into his head. He couldn't tell if it was the effects of the hangover, or the realization that he'd caved with Mal.

And speaking of Mal…

Where was she?

Ben struggled back into his clothes and then yanked his shoes and socks back onto his feet. When he was sure he was mostly presentable, he battled his way back through the leafy underbrush, trying to find his way back to camp. He followed the sounds of construction; of loud and boisterous laughter. He wondered if anyone was wondering where he was or if anyone had seen him leave with Mal.

As he reached the others, a tree tipped over and Islanders began sawing off limbs. Large burn piles were being constructed with the excess while the Islanders formed a chain of assembly to quickly build shelters. They worked fast, which was a given since there were so many of them.

"Woah, man!" He heard Gil laugh as the man walked past carrying a large board. "You look wasted. Our alcohol too strong for you?"

"I guess," Ben rubbed his face. His headache had come on stronger now. "What happened last night?"

"I dunno man, I went to bed early," Gil laughed. "But everyone's been wondering where you are. Evie, Mal, and Uma want your help. I think Harry's trying to convince them that you ditched for Auradon to get soldiers, but they think that's a load of crap."

"Yeah," Ben shook his head. "Yeah, I'm still here." He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not sure how useful I'll be."

"That's okay. Take a day if you need it," Gil recommended. "We all do here and there."

As Gil walked away, Ben felt a weight sink into his stomach. Mal was looking for him? As in she was pretending she didn't know where he was?

He wandered around until he found the three girls with Jay, Carlos, and Harry included. They were gathered under a canopy and talking over blueprints that Carlos had drawn up. They didn't notice him until he ducked under the canopy and Jay called: "Hey, there he is."

Everyone turned and greeted him. Harry looked immensely disappointed to see him, but he didn't say anything. He only sighed and looked downcast. Evie laughed. "You look like you slept on the ground," She chuckled. "Did you wander off?"

"Apparently," Ben grumbled as Uma snorted at his disheveled appearance.

"I guess our drinks were too strong for you," She chuckled. "Sorry, Ben. I didn't think to warn you." Her sympathetic look told him that it hadn't been a prank - she just genuinely didn't think about it.

"I watered it down, but a lot of good that did me," Ben sighed. He glanced over at Mal and was disappointed to see her ignoring him.

She'd fixed herself up so she didn't look like she'd spent a night tangled up beside him. Or maybe she had just left straight afterwards - who knew? Her hair was brushed and she'd changed her outfit and she looked like she'd been awake from hours. If he remembered correctly, she'd been tipsy the previous night too, but she wasn't showing any signs of being hungover right now.

"Gil said you needed my help," Ben began, taking his gaze away from Mal. "I'm not sure how useful I'll be, but I came around to see what was going on anyways."

"Yeah, you're useless," Carlos snorted. "Go get some water and go back to bed, Ben. We'll manage without you for today. Besides, we're not going to have you around for much longer."

He could have sworn it was a hallucination brought on by his dizziness, but he thought he saw Mal dig her nails into her legs.

Ben nodded and then took a seat beside the table. He listened numbly while they finished debating where they wanted to build permanent residencies and occasionally made comments about what he'd be sending from Auradon to help them. They were drawing out a layout based on circles with diamond-shaped places they'd leave trees and foliage. Dividing the region by thirds, Mal's crew would rule one part, then Evie's another, and finally Uma would control the last. It was going to be a beautiful city one day. When everyone was clear on where they wanted to start clearing in preparation for Auradon Supplies to come in, they broke off one by one. Uma and Harry walked off with their arms around each other, down to where they were going to start preparing lunch and dinner. Jay took off to go find Gil and help him out, and then Evie, Carlos, and Mal muttered for a few more seconds before they started to walk away. Ben caught Mal's arm as she started to walk away.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked, trying to keep his gaze soft and coherent. He put a finger down on Mal's sector. "I have some questions," he said, keeping it vague on purpose. He didn't want Carlos and Evie to suspect any more than everyone already did, but he wanted Mal to stay behind.

"N-" Mal began to say but quickly bit her tongue when she realized Evie and Carlos were still there and she couldn't say no to such a simple task without making it seem like she was angry at him for some reason. She bit her lip. "Fine," She agreed begrudgingly, "but make it fast - I want to go start scoping things out. They need someone with magic out there."

She hovered beside the map and Carlos and Evie continued wandering away, towards Evie's sector. Mal leaned over his shoulder. "What are you confused on?" She asked, putting a finger down on the map.

"You left," Ben whispered. "I woke up and you were gone."

Mal's face burned bright red. It was odd to see her face red, her eyes vibrant green, and her hair purple. "Of course," she hissed. "We couldn't have two people looking like you walking from the same direction at the same time."

"Okay, fine. Don't you think we should talk about it though?" Ben asked, staring at her as he spoke. He couldn't deny her words, though he could see in her eyes that she hadn't been thinking of that when she'd left and it was only a convenient cover-up.

"Talk about what?" Mal snapped, withdrawing from him. "There was nothing. Nothing happened. We didn't see each other last night."

"Please tell me we're not doing this," Ben slumped his shoulders. "You don't have to go off like this every time something happens, Mal."

"Well what would you prefer?" Mal snapped. "What would you rather I say? 'Gee, Ben, we should have split up last night when you first suggested it," "I'm really sorry about everything that happened; maybe we should just forget it all.'"

For several seconds, Ben couldn't help but be hurt. As much as it had sucked to wake up alone and with the realization he'd gotten drunk with Mal, it really sucked to hear her say she regretted it all after he'd gotten up the courage to try and talk with her about it.

But then he started thinking about the way she had said it and how her face was twisting up and then somehow everything made sense. He'd pointed out her angry, lying defense, and instead of reverting back to "Mal", she'd started a defense tirade for her defensiveness. Which meant that everything that had just come out of her mouth was a lie.

"You regret nothing," he whispered in realization, and this… emotion lit up her eyes. Something strong and weak and harsh and loud, all at once. She smacked him hard across the face and then was withdrawing even farther. The pain on his face combined with his throbbing headache and numbing shock made everything feel foggy, but he didn't protest. He didn't even make a sound because he felt like he'd finally managed to understand.

She lied so she didn't have to accept the truth.

She hit him because, on the Isle, that was how to keep people away.

She was afraid of losing him and thought it would be better to leave him behind first. That way, it was still in her control.

She was walking backward faster, trying to leave him behind. Something in his eyes must have revealed the truth to her. He knew. He knew her on this metaphysical, spiritual level that she tried to deny she even had. And that emotion - the fear - was so thick in her eyes that it hurt him.

So he let her go. There wasn't anything else that needed saying between them.

* * *

They didn't speak for five days.

It was torture.

He saw her standing around, using her magic to prepare for homes and places to be built, hiding in trees and looking down over everyone, but they didn't talk to each other. She didn't seek him out and he didn't try and talk to her again.

This must have been the effect Audrey had tried to spark between them whenever she ignored him as teens. In hindsight, it had always been a relief instead of a downside when she'd stopped speaking to him. So many warning signs that he'd ignored… so many things he'd tried to overlook.

This electricity with Mal was so different… it was physically hurting him to be away. He felt this tug in his chest that let him know, at all times, what direction and how far he would have to walk or run to reach her. He felt like he was being burned alive as he waited for her. Pining. He'd never experienced that effect before, but he knew what it was now. Just like how he knew now what it was like to be in love with someone.

Five whole days of avoiding each other with careless excuses of 'I have to go do this' and 'I can't talk right now; maybe later.' None of the others had noticed anything, but it wouldn't have mattered if they had. Mal was very adamant about hiding her feelings and herself away from him. She must have thought that if he couldn't see her, he couldn't read her emotions, but that was a fluke of a thought. He knew her. He knew what she was feeling from five miles away as she stewed over them and what they'd done and what they'd been.

And she knew him.

"Ben," Carlos yelled, startling Ben out of his thoughts as he hefted a large beam onto a pile. Ben whipped around and smiled at the white-haired man as he gestured Ben over towards a tent where he, Evie, Uma, and Mal had shielded their documents from view. He pulled off his gloves and walked over. Carlos held the tent flap open as Ben ducked in and then stepped in afterward. Ben glanced around and his smile dropped off his face.

Two reasons. First, Mal was sitting in a corner, sharpening a stick with a knife and looking furious. Second, a man in an official Auradon uniform was standing in front of him. Ben remembered him vaguely as the man who had pushed him out of the way when Mal had stopped their caravan. He put his hands in his pockets and straightened up, examining the red-faced soldier candidly. "What's this?" He asked.

"I sent a letter to your kingdom back when we passed through Arendelle," Evie blinked in surprise. "Did I not tell you? I told them that the King would like to return home around now. They're actually a little earlier than I expected, but you can go home now if you like. I'm sorry if I forgot."

Ben stared at her, and then let his gaze flicker back to the general, who swallowed to compose himself. "Your Majesty," He began, and the words felt unfamiliar to Ben. "On behalf of our squadron, we apologize for your loss on the Cinderellasburg road."

"It's alright," Ben assured him. "I went willingly." He glanced between Jay and Uma.

"We ought to return to the palace now," The guard said in a very stifled tone. "There is an armed squad waiting for you at the road, but it's rather hard to get through the trees, so…" He trailed off uncomfortably. "Your presence is required at the palace as soon as possible."

Ben looked over at Evie and Uma, avoiding Mal's frame entirely. "Will you need me for anything?" He asked softly.

"We can train other people," Uma laughed. "Besides, you must be missing sleeping in a proper bed and wearing your own clothes."

He wasn't.

"And besides," Evie chuckled. "Your wife must miss you." She tried and failed to avoid glancing at Mal.

Audrey wouldn't.

Ben exhaled. "Yeah," He agreed in a hollow tone. "And I need to make you guys official. Draw up land pacts and send crews to help you. We've got to get things going." He glanced at the general. "I, uh, can't leave tonight though. There are things I need to do tonight. If you like, you may all come and help pitch in or you can make camp where you are. I will be staying up here with these fine folk."

"These fine-" The general snorted and cut himself off. "Your Majesty, I hope you'll understand that we won't allow you to continue being held for any ransom."

"I wasn't aware I was being held for ransom," Ben butted in before the man could say anything. "And thank you for your concern. Does this mean you'll be coming up?"

"Your Majesty, we will be removing you from the area immediately," the general explained like he was talking to a small child. "It's time you came back to your position."

"Hmm," Ben snorted. "You know, sir, I think I'm fine here. These people need an extra hand and I have two. And for the record, you would do best to stay in your position as well." He turned away from the man to dismiss him a little and Carlos snorted. Ben rolled his eyes. "I'll finish the things I started this morning and then pack up later tonight. One more night under the stars will be good for me. I'll walk down to meet the squadron tomorrow."

"We appreciate it, Ben," Evie smiled kindly.

"The kids are gonna miss you," Uma frowned. "You'll have to come back and visit."

"You'll miss me too, Uma," Ben teased. "You'll miss making bets on me and ordering me to fetch you things."

Uma shrugged with a tiny, wistful grin. "Hey, ordering the king around is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," She chuckled.

Ben nodded with a laugh and then pulled her forward into a hug. Her hair smelled like seawater and sweat. Uma tensed up and then relaxed into his grip. He laughed at her uncertainty and then, after releasing her, hugged Evie. Evie buried her face into his arm a little and he knew she was going to miss him terribly. Ben then bumped fists with Jay and Carlos, and then they all paused as one and glanced to where Mal was sitting, sharpening her stick into a point that could probably draw blood. He waited for a few heartbeats for a response, but aside from her hair falling forward even more, she didn't move.

Ben turned to his general. "I want you to walk down and invite everyone up to help us work," he told him. "But only those who'd like to. The rest of you selfish folk can sit wherever you're parked and wait for me to be done up here."

"Your majesty, we really have to get you back to the castle," the general protested.

"Yes, and you will. We just won't start today," Ben replied.

"This is foolhardy!" The man exploded. "These people kidnapped you and you are allowing them to continue doing so!"

"Thank you for your opinion," Ben sighed. Across the tent, there was a sudden snap and then a slam. Evie yelped. Ben spun back around to see Mal had snapped the pointy part of her stick off and then driven it straight into the table. She leaned across the table with a gaze that made it feel like he was being shot over and over. He took a hard seat underneath her gaze, sliding down on instinct as she leaned closer to him. "Are you insane?" She snapped. "Or are you just a broken, miserable little fool?"

Her hair had lit aflame, vibrant purple flames licked her beautiful violet locks. Her eyes were turning the light in the room a different color. A candle on the table leaped to life as flames appeared, jumping out of her collar and off her hands. Things started floating. Ben was pinned to his chair by an unforgivable force, and it suddenly became very hard to breathe.

Was this the creature that Maleficent had feared?

Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Uma all cowered, which was something he'd never seen them do before. All of the blood had drained out of the general's face. And ice was creeping over Ben's skin as his brain tried to signal his body to run.

"Don't you ever get mad?" Mal shrieked. "He's the reason you're here! You went through two months of prison and hard labor and eating and sleeping in the forest. We walked twenty miles every day! And he's snapping off at you like he's king! Why aren't you angry?" The sound was ringing in his ears. Outside, all was silent.

"You're the reason I'm here, Mal," Ben managed to force out, though a pressure immediately clamped down on his throat. "It's not his fault."

"Then be mad at me!" Mal demanded, practically spitting flames out as she slammed her hands down on the table. Ben flinched back. The tent seams began to rip as she grew angrier. "Be angry! Scream, shout! Are you even human? How are you so ridiculously calm? Come on, scream back! You can't possibly be so bloody perfect all the time!"

Ben paused. Oh.

He swallowed. "I'll miss you too, Mal," He whispered.

Mal burst into tears. It wasn't even the silent tears that you could wipe away and try to hide. The girl practically collapsed in on herself as she snapped from avenging temptress to despairing angel in the space of a second. All of the flames extinguished themselves in the space of a few seconds. Ben felt the pressure release on his chest as Mal pushed herself around the table and exited the tent, completely inconsolable as she wept for what was probably the first time in her entire life. Evie, who had ended up on the floor, covered her mouth as she tried to catch her breath. Ben slowly stood up and pushed his chair back in. In a corner of the table was the stake Mal had slammed through the four-inch-thick tabletop and imbedded into the wood. He'd never seen anything like that before.

"A sorceress!" The general exclaimed. "She… she's a witch!"

"No," Ben shook his head. "She's just a very powerful young lady." He turned and felt blindly for the opening. "If you'll excuse me," he mumbled. "I'm going to go back to work."

* * *

The sun set on his last day with the Islanders and everyone was devastated to learn he was going. Dozens of people came to shake his hand and thank him for everything and to wish him safe travels. Little kids crowded around his knees to cry and beg him for hugs and kisses and cuddles Ben obliged, feeling sadder, until one-by-one every child was pulled away to bed by parents and overseers.

"I haven't seen Mal still," Evie whispered before she slipped off to bed. "If you see her, can you check on her?"

"I'll go look before I turn in, Ben assured her.

His sixth sense regarding Mal still hadn't slipped away. He followed his heart down into foliage, past several towering trees, and then discovered a tiny little alcove with a waterfall spilling into a little pond with glistening white rocks at the bottom of the water. His skin prickled and became icy with fire as he stepped up to the water's edge and then glanced down. He scuffed his toes against the earth and sighed. "You could still come with me," He invited the waters, somehow knowing she'd hear. "I've been thinking… ever since we got here… I can't go back to live the way I was."

There was a sound like mist to his right and he caught a glimpse of purple reflected in the water.

"I… need to be wanted. Need to be needed. And the person I am - the person I became here - I need to be loved," He looked over all Mal and watched her examining the water with a blank expression. "She doesn't love me. I don't love her. But you…"

Mal brushed her hair away. "And Audrey?" She asked softly.

"Divorces exist," Ben reminded her. "I'll make you a queen if you let me."

"And Belle?" Mal whispered.

"Well, she's still small. Her mom would probably get primary rights. But I'd still have her sometimes." Ben put his hands in her pockets and stared at her. "I can't stop being her dad," He whispered.

"But you can stop being Audrey's husband," Mal pointed out blandly.

"She stopped being my wife years ago."

"You'll rip her whole life apart."

"Hasn't she done that to me?"

"Ben."

Ben dug his toes into the ground and then took a seat on the edge of the pond. He combed his fingers through his hair. "What am I supposed to do, Mal?" He whispered. "Even if I froze her funding and made her spend time with Belle and dismantled her stupid spa, She's never going to be you, Mal."

"But you committed to her," Mal reminded him, taking a seat. "And maybe she can't be me, but I could never, ever be her. All the royal responsibilities and people telling me where I need to be all the time… I can't do that."

Ben slumped his shoulders. He knew she couldn't. And truth be told, he'd rather her be out here with her people, healing from everything her mother had done to her.

"I love you," He admitted out loud, tossing all cares westward. "Do you love me?"

Mal sniffed. "I don't know what love is," she reminded him. "That's all primal lies."

"This is love," Ben annunciated. He reached across the earth and took her hand. "I finally figured it out. I'm not… faking anything anymore. I feel like I'm finally living." Ben got to his knees and, using the tips of his fingers, traced a pattern down her cheek. "I think I've always loved you," he whispered. "Please, please come with me. I'll do anything. I'll divorce Audrey, I'll - I'll-" he took a deep, steadying breath. "It won't be easy, but I swear I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it worth it."

Mal put a hand on his and shook her head. "I can't leave here, Ben. After everything… Auradon isn't what I want. Please, don't ask me to leave again."

Ben deflated, staring at the ground in disappointment. Mal cupped his cheek. "In another world, we could have made it work," she whispered. "But the way I am… I can't anymore Ben. It's been too long. I've done too much and I've seen too much."

"I left you too long," Ben muttered. "If only I'd thought of the Isle years ago. Instead… I went looking for love in the wrong place."

Mal let out a despairing sort of laugh and her breath ghosted past his cheek. "This is who I really am, Ben. My mother and grandmother and everyone before me was a forest fairy. I'm finally home."

"I know," he whispered.

"You have to be king," Mal whispered. "And I-I have to be Queen of the Isle. I have to protect them."

Ben sniffed and nodded. Mal put both her hands on his cheeks and pulled him close before she stopped. He could smell her breath from where he was hovering, nose no more than a few inches away from hers. "We're not drunk," she whispered. "You're still married."

Ben shook his head. "I just spent two months doing the most good I've ever done because of you and your light trick. God will forgive me if all I want is to be in your arms this last night." He cocked his head at her. "Are you going to leave me again tonight?"

"No," Mal shook her head and combed her fingers through his hair. She trailed her fingertips down his collarbone with a smile. "If there is a god," Mal breathed against his neck, "She's sadistic and cruel and takes pride in making our story end like this."

Ben snorted and leaned in. The only thing separating them was a moment of hesitation before Mal's nimble fingers wrapped around his ears and she moved to wrap her toned legs around his waist. Then her lips fell onto his like they had been destined to be there all along and he lost himself in everything that she was. It was all Mal, Mal, Mal.

* * *

A servant helped him down and wrinkled his nose at the King's appearance. Ben glanced around at the palace. Aside from the longer days, nothing had changed.

"Where's Belle?" He asked softly, going to pull his own collection of Isle items down before any of the servants could dispose of them.

"She's with her nanny," A servant responded. "Would you like me to fetch her?"

"Please," Ben agreed. "Send her up to mine and Audrey's old room, and if you could have a bunch of boxes sent up, that would be lovely. We're going to be decluttering and sending things away."

"Yes, your majesty," The servant made to take his bundle, containing his jacket and clothes and a few things that the children had made him, but Ben held it tighter to his chest.

He was followed inside. He'd forgotten for lurid and expensive it was in here. As he tapped his foot against the carpet, he sighed. "I want this replaced," He announced. "Please find a simple brown, and repaint the walls to be white again. And I'm going to have the windows be made clear to let in more light."

The servants exchanged looks. "Queen Audrey designed this room herself," They announced.

"I know," Ben assured them. "But this is my castle and my family home. I want it changed back." He picked up a gold ornament of no particular value off the table and sighed before passing it off. "That can be the first thing to go," He declared.

He made his way up to the spa room and opened the door softly without knocking. Audrey was lying in a chair with her eyes closed, sighing as someone rubbed her scalp softly. Ben walked to the windows and pulled open the curtains. Audrey's face twisted. "Who's there?" She asked.

"Me," Ben called, frowning around the room as he tried to remember what it had been before.

"Did I know you were coming?" Audrey asked, lifting her hands up for him. He walked over and she took his face before making as if she was going to kiss his cheek. Her eyes were still closed. Her mouth never touched his skin.

"I live here," Ben told her. "And I've been gone, so I figured you would want to see me."

"It has been a while, huh?" Audrey asked, eyes still shut tight. She still hadn't even looked at him. "How long? A week?"

"Thirteen, actually," Ben tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone. "I've been gone for three months."

"Oh!" Audrey sounded surprised. "Oh, I hadn't realized. What a long trip. I've just been in here."

"Is your back still hurting?" Ben asked.

"It is," Audrey frowned, shifting uncomfortably. "I can't figure out what's wrong with it though."

"I think you need more fresh air," Ben declared, going to fling the window open. A brisk breeze of cool air flew in from outside. Audrey yelped. She opened her eyes and sat up. Ben didn't give her time to protest. "Belle and I are going to be in our room. You can come up if you want. And tomorrow we're going to be in her room. She's getting older and I want to fix her room up."

"That sounds like a good idea," Audrey nodded, rubbing her back. "She's almost three now, right?"

"Six," Ben replied flatly.

"I was close," Audrey shrugged. She examined Ben a little closer. "You look different," She commented. "Have you been working out?"

"Sort of," Ben shrugged. "I think you should join me. We can try some things to help strengthen your back again. Like when you did cheer." Audrey made a noncommittal sound. "I'm going to be redecorating our bedroom," he told her. "So don't freak out when we have crews coming through. I'll put your favorite things aside for you to keep."

Audrey frowned. "What kind of redecorating?" She asked.

"Simple things," Ben promised, leaning down to kiss her forehead. He meant, of course, simple as in the decorating style. Not in the changes he'd be making. The action, however, distracted Audrey.

"You didn't ask permission," She accused, brushing the skin where he'd touched her.

"Neither did you when you took my face earlier," Ben replied. He exhaled and patted her hand. His ring was back on his hand, digging into his skin a little bit more. Maybe he'd put in an order for a different one and let Audrey keep this one as a memento. "One more thing, Audrey," He said as he started to walk towards the door. "Our High School reunion is in a few months. They're holding it at the school and there's going to be games and things. You'll need a pair of tennis shoes. Do you want white or pink?"

"You can't go," Audrey frowned. "What if there are other girls there?"

Ben crossed his arms and leaned against the door. "Then you'll trust me and I'll trust you," He suggested, though a pool of guilt twisted his stomach. "Now, Belle is waiting for me. I'm going to be letting her nanny go and you and I are going to raise her. If you want to talk to me about it, you'll have to come out of the spa."

He reached for the handle, pausing to see if Audrey would protest. She didn't, but she did look absolutely baffled as she sat back down. She hadn't thought about anything else in a while, so Ben figured it'd take a minute for everything to sink in.

Ben twisted the knob to his room for the first time in almost seven years and stepped inside to commotion. The poor nanny had marks up and down her arms and looked frazzled as Little Belle twisted on the ground, screaming. "I don't wanna!" She hollered. "I don't wanna!" Large boxes piled around her.

Ben put a hand on the woman's arm. "Thank you for everything you've done," He whispered. "I'll take it from here. She won't be allowed to behave like this anymore. I'll send you a bonus in the mail and write you a letter of recommendation if you like."

The nanny wasted no time in leaving. Ben knelt down beside Belle and put a hand on her back. "Belle," He called, using the stern tone he'd finally learned how to use with Mal. The girl quit beating her fists into the carpet and looked up at him with red eyes.

"Daddy, Mrs. Marks was being mean!" She complained. "I want a new nanny."

"No, Belle, you were being bad. Dad told her to bring you up here, and you hurt her, and I'm angry with you," He frowned at the child, but she wasn't much fazed by the show. "From now on, Mom and Dad are going to be in charge of you. And if I see you throwing a fit like this, I'll make you sit on a chair in a corner all by yourself for a whole day." He crossed his arms and pinched his lips at her. Belle snarled at him, sat cross-legged on the carpet, and pouted. He only rolled his eyes.

"Dad hates this room," he told her, gesturing around to the vibrant reds and gaudy pinks. "We're going to rip everything out and you're going to help me. If you're good, then I'll give you some candy afterward. If you're bad, I'll make you sit on a chair until you want to be good. If you break anything on purpose, Dad's gonna find something to break in your room. Do you understand me?"

Belle pouted, but then slowly got up and walked over to a collection of sequined pillows on Audrey's couch. "These?" She asked.

"Those," Ben let his face soften into a smile to cheer her up a little. "And then tomorrow we're going to do your room too and make it look like a big girl's room." Belle wiped the last of her tears away and then picked up a pillow and carried it over to a box, swaying as she did. She dropped it in with a little poof, and then looked up to see his reaction.

"I bet I can do more than you," He challenged, and Belle scrambled back to the couch. He let her gather as many pillows as she could into her tiny arms before walking over and scooping her up with a little growl. He dumped her into the box playfully on top of the last pillow as she squealed.

"Daddy, I'm not a pillow!" She protested.

"You aren't? But you're squishy and soft like one!" He picked her up, spinning her around with a smile, and she put her arms around his head, squealing as she grabbed the back of his shirt.

Eventually, they slowed down, and then Belle poked at something on his collarbone. "What's this?" She asked.

Ben looked down. It was a bruise. A dark purple bruise a little smaller than a golf ball right underneath his collarbone. His mind blanked out. What to tell her? What to say?

Someone gave that to Daddy, Princess. Daddy let someone do that. Daddy loves another lady, sweetheart.

Ben smiled and kissed her cheek. "That happened to Dad on his trip," He explained. "It'll go away in a few days, and then it'll all be over."

"What'd you do?" Belle asked, poking at it a little. Ben let her, even though it stung a little.

"Well, Dad went far away, and he met-" He paused for dramatic effect. "A dragon. And this dragon was fluffy and sweet and very, very sad, and so now our family has a dragon for a friend." He tapped the bruises. "But this was something the dragon gave Dad by accident. She said that she was very sorry."

"Okay," Belle nodded, accepting the story. Then, after a moment of contemplation, she leaned forward and kissed it awkwardly. "Nanny Boe always kissed my boo-boos," she explained, and then hugged her arms around his neck again. "I'm sorry the dragon hurt you."

Mal had hurt him. Probably not as much as he'd hurt her, but he still ached for her presence. His mental compass was firmly attuned to her. Just like the needle on the water, they'd all been so amazed by, part of his soul still pointed out west towards where he'd left her behind. They'd laid their whatever-they-had to rest, but he still missed her all the same.

Ben smiled and cuddled the little girl close. Nothing was going to be the same again, but everything would be okay.

Hard, but okay.

His dragon had taught him how to be happy again.


	19. Getting It Right

**_Ben almost throws up the first time a boy shows up to pick his daughter up at the palace. Because out of all the people she knows, why on earth would she want to go out with this kid? In which Ben and Mal's daughter begins dating, and Ben is suspicious of every person who shows up._**

* * *

Ben almost throws up the first time a boy shows up to pick his daughter up at the palace.

And no, it's not just because she's old enough to be considered pretty and there are now boys sending her cards for her birthday and asking for her number. Because he and Mal have handled that pretty well - checking her phone weekly and making her download a spyware app that tells them not only how often she's using her phone to text but also who she spends the most time texting and also forwarding any photos she sends or receives. (Ben's honestly not too worried about her sending bad photos to boys since she's always been pretty aware of what would happen if someone got ahold of sexts from the princess of Auradon, but he does care about what she might receive.) And Belle is smart. She gets good grades and all her friends act like mini-adults outside of Preston and Jayson, Jay's two twin boys. Her two best friends are Tanner and Sophie, Evie's kids, and those two are the type of honest kids who make the world spin the way it should. So when Belle tells him and Mal that she'll be going out one Friday night(that did hurt a bit, in hindsight), he doesn't worry too much. He makes sure that she charges her phone and tells her to make sure to keep the ringer on and don't go anywhere there isn't reception. She gets some pepper spray and a switchblade from Mal, and a cautious warning from him. On the night of, she comes in to ask for help putting a braid in her hair(Mal pulls too much and always forgets which way she's braiding halfway through), and then borrows a pair of Mal's earrings that someone from the courts sent her and that she's never worn.

He has to run up to his office to file some paperwork, but Lumiere pages from the front gates when the boy arrives and he gets down to the foyer about a minute after Mal and Belle have already welcomed him in.

And that's when he has to hold back a simultaneous snort, roll of the eyes, and a gag.

Because out of all the people Belle hangs out with and her being the upstanding teen she is, why on earth would she want to go out with this boy?

His daughter had to bring home the worst sort of kid out there.

The smell of smoke is wafting around the kid as he stands in the foyer of the palace wearing a sweaty tank top and what appear to be girl's leggings that are pushed down to show the tops of his underwear. His ratty hair is braided back and he has green streaks in both his eyebrows and head hair. A nose ring pokes through his nostril with a gem swinging from it like some sort of crystalized booger.

Now, to be fair, Ben has no issue with boys braiding their hair or cross-dressing or nose rings or hair dye. Smoking toes the line a bit. And this kid, he knows, is definitely not old enough to legally be smoking.

However, it is the sheer lack of uncleanliness and the devil-may-care attitude that has him squinting a little, closing his eyes, and then dragging his hands down his face with a sigh.

Mal's mouth is pressed together in disappointment. She, too, is no stranger to funky hair colors or piercings and boys dressing like they're heading to tourney practice(she grew up on the Isle of the Lost with Jay as her close ally, of course), but her disappointment makes the air so thick he has no idea how Belle is still smiling, fidgeting a little as she presents the young man.

"Daddy," she begins with a little smile. "This is Joel. We're going out skating tonight." Then she waits with her little handbag clutched in between her fingers, twisting the toe of her shoe into the ground as she waits.

What is she waiting for? Approval? An "I'm so sorry for you"? Ben looks over at Mal, whose eyes are a bit wide as she exhales in frustration. It's good to know they're on the same page.

Joel steps forward, letting out a breath, and slouches forward as he puts his hands on Belle's shoulders. "When do you want her home?" He asks.

Now, Ben thinks, it is one thing to come into the High Palace dressed the way you are. It is another to think you can take the princess out, who looks decent and tailored and somewhat professional, when you reek like you've been choosing to shower in smoke and sweat instead of water. It is one more to meet the king - the father of the girl you're taking out - not introduce yourself, not greet him at all, and not have any regard to speak except "when do you want her home?"

Ben gives the boy another once over and this time notices something that turns his stomach around in his torso. The kid has a white box between the waistline of the leggings and his underwear, half-open and dirty from touching his skin. This time, he does roll his eyes.

"No," he announces, shaking his head.

"No?" Belle asks, with the smile dropping off her face in confusion. "What do you mean, no?"

"No," Ben repeats, stepping forward, taking her arm, and then pushing her towards the stairs a little. "Not happening. Go upstairs, you're going to bed."

Mal hides a smile behind her hand as the kid processes what is going on. He looks like a blue screen on a computer as it loads. "What?" He asks. "But-" he leans over Ben's shoulder to try and talk to Belle. "Aren't we going to go skating?"

That pisses Ben off. Because if anything, the kid should be asking him this instead of ignoring the way he's now standing in between him and his daughter.

"Not anymore," Ben takes the boy's shoulders and, ignoring the sweat that is now on his fingertips, turns him around and marches him closer to the door. "I just decided she's not going out. Have a nice evening and drive safe."

Mal opens the door with a smirk as Ben moves closer to it. Joel steps out with a dazed look. "Wait, but-" the door closes softly in front of him.

"Dad!" Belle protests from the stairs. She marches up with her green eyes blazing in fury. "Why can't we go out? It's going to be fun!"

"I can't believe you even tried to bring him home," Mal snorted softly. "If I were you, I would have attempted to meet up there."

"I would have had to have met the kid first to allow that," Ben disagrees, taking Mal's arm and shaking his head. "You seriously couldn't pick anyone better? The kid was high and looked like he hadn't showered since the day he was born."

"I met cleaner kids on the Isle of the Lost," Mal pitches in, nodding along to his words.

"Listen, Belle," Ben begins. "You are a bright and smart and beautiful young girl. I don't know why on earth you're going out with people like that, but I don't want you to ever bring someone like that home again."

"You're just upset because I'm older now and dating people!" Belle accuses. "And you're judging him based on the way he looks!"

"And smells," Mal adds dryly.

"Belle, I will let you go out with any decent kid you show me, boy or girl," Ben sighs, holding out his hands to count on his fingers when he talks. "But the kid you just tried to show me clearly put no thought into making tonight special for you, didn't even consider that he was coming to the palace to pick you up and he would have to meet the King and Queen before he'd be allowed to take the princess out, was higher than the ceiling fan, didn't introduce himself or shake hands or anything, and was filthier than the backside of a factory vent." He crosses his arms and frowns at her. "If you're going to make a habit of bringing home kids like that, we'll have to get you a lot more than pepper spray."

"A class," Mal moans, covering her face. "A self-help website. A book. A counselor. Something."

Belle's eyes fill up with stubborn, angry tears before she whirls on her feet and stomps away up the stairs. Ben listens to her march away. Her room is further up to prevent people from sneaking in while royal activities are going on, but he still hears the echoes of her door slamming about two minutes later when she reaches it.

Mal leans her head against his shoulder. "We're not going to survive the dating phase, are we?" She whispers. Ben sighs in silent agreement before she puts a hand on his shoulder and looks up at him. "Did you see on his hip? He had a box of-"

"I saw," Ben cuts her off with a shake of his head. "It's okay. It won't happen again."

* * *

Belle doesn't stay mad for long. She forgets to be angry by lunch that next day and by the time 24 hours have passed, she's agreed that it probably wouldn't have been the best situation. It gives both Ben and Mal a bit of hope when she says she's been asked out again, but Ben makes sure to be in the foyer when the second boy knocks. There have been a few long conversations - Mal and Ben made a deal that if he gave Belle the "what to do if a boy wants to do things you know we don't approve of" talk, then she'd handle teaching their daughter a few self-defense tricks and set out standards for boys and dates and "how your father and I want your date to behave when he meets us" and the occasional threat for not complying with their terms. Belle now has a taser and Ben called Carlos to see if there was a way that they could program the emergency button on Belle's phone to also call him and Mal if she hits it, and they all feel a little more prepared.

There's a knock at the door and Ben opens it up. At least with this kid, there's an immediate reason why she's going out with him. He looks good. Long, dark hair like Jay's back in high school, but thicker. His skin is dark and clean and he's strong. He's dressed in a red t-shirt that looks well enough, but the blue jeans he wears are almost all holes. All up and down his legs, in the front and back. The only untouched parts are the seams on the sides. Ben sighs a little and puts a smile on. At least this kid doesn't have a jewel swinging in his nostril. Instead, the black gauges he has look calm and not flashy.

"I'm Carlie," he introduces himself, holding out a hand to shake. "Your daughter and I are going out to a rodeo tonight. I hope she's ready."Mal hums beside him. He glances over at her as he shakes Carlie's hand.

"Okay," he nods.

The kid steps over the doorframe, weaves around Ben, and then claps his hands together when he sees Belle standing beside the stairs. Ben sees Mal narrow her eyes as he invites himself into the entryway. "There she is!" He announces to the world in a loud voice. "Come on, we can't take forever!" He huffs and crosses his arms before giving Ben's daughter a once-over. She's wearing a floral dress with a white jacket. Her shoes are white sneakers, and she looks a little thrown off. "Girl, you're going to ruin those shoes. The rodeo has black mud for miles. And you won't be able to ride anything in that dress."

Belle's lips fall into a frown. Ben and Mal exchange a look. "You didn't tell me we were going to a rodeo," she told him. "You said to dress nice."

"I meant like this," Carlie slaps his hands against his distressed jeans. Mal presses a hand to her forehead.

Belle stares at Carlie, eyes tracing his outfit and the disbelieving expression on his face. Ben feels bad for her - she spent a solid three hours getting ready and even went to Mal for advice when she stopping believing his affirmations of "you look wonderful, sweetheart." She never goes to Mal for fashion advice. Ever. It's always him, Evie, or sometimes Audrey.

Belle sighs dramatically. "Well you should have given me context," she reprimands him. "And if you were worried about being late, why didn't you ask to pick me up earlier?"

"Didn't realize I'd have to come all the way up and meet your folks," Carlie replies, sticking a thumb out at Ben and Mal. "Most chicks just come on down and get in the car,"

"Well, I guess next time you know to plan ahead," Belle mutters. Her eyes are sparking in annoyance. Ben presses his lips together to keep from laughing.

"Next time?" The kid asks with a laugh. "Do I have to come by the king every single time? Maybe next time you should just drive yourself and meet me."

Belle looks past Carlie at Ben and gives him this wide-eyed, hard look of "I can't believe this is happening." Ben can hardly believe it either. He wishes he had a camera rolling. Would the security cameras pick up good enough footage?

"Well," Belle huffs. "I guess we'd better get going then." She walks towards the door, pausing beside Carlie and holding out her arm for him to take. He ignores it though, and then walks back out, scoffing a little as he passes Ben and Mal.

Mal hugs Belle and whispers a few lines of "Be safe, I love you, be good." And then Belle tries to hug Ben. He puts an arm around her and kisses her head, but he's not convinced yet. They watch Carlie jump down to his truck, which sits in the circle lot, and then hop in and start it up. A cloud of black smoke explodes from the tailpipe and the car starts with a noise like a cow screaming. Belle's arms are tense.

Ben puts his arms around Mal as they watch her walk down. "Are we really letting her do this?" Mal demands in an urgent tone. "Look at how he treats her!"

"It's okay. She needs to learn that if she picks the wrong type of guy, she won't have a good time," Ben assures her. Mal's fingers curl into her hands still, and they watch as Belle opens her own door, looking immensely irritated, and then buckles her seatbelt.

The car leaves slowly. Ben hums as they reach the end of the circle driveway. "I didn't think she'd last that long," he whispers in Mal's ear. She looks up at him, a little confused.

The car stays paused at the end of the driveway for the longest time. Then, instead of turning out to the main road that will take them to the gates, the car returns into the driveway and comes back up to the door.

"There is it," Ben laughs. Ben and Mal watch Belle open the door, now looking angry. As she jumps out, a storm of swear words follows her. Ben briefly hears about five insults directed at her, him and Mal, and the palace before Belle slams the door so hard a crack appears in the window. She stomps up the steps as the truck takes off, leaving behind a cloud of black smoke that makes Ben cough a little as his daughter storms past him and Mal. He chuckles as he closes the front door.

"How'd you know?" Mal asks once Belle is far enough away. "Ben shakes his head.

"Oh please," he snorted. "She likes the way he looks, but she doesn't like his attitude!"

* * *

She only tries to sneak past Ben once, and he makes sure it'll never happen again.

He's in his old office, finishing up a few things, when Lumiere pages up. The receiver on his desk cackles a bit as it connects and then Lumiere greets him with a little smile. "Your Majesty," He begins, "The princess's date has arrived."

Ben pauses, staying silent, and glances down at the calendar on his desk. It is blank. No one is due to go anywhere tonight. This means Belle either completely forgot she had a date and didn't tell them, or she forgot to tell Lumiere not to tip her dad off when they showed up. Ben hums. "Thank you, Lumiere. Could you let them in, please? But if Belle is in the car when they go back out, keep them in."

Lumiere pauses on the other end of the line. Ben can feel him contemplating the odd request, but he doesn't ask. "Yes, your majesty," he agrees.

Ben picks up the key to lock his room on the way out and then walks past Mal's office as she's on the phone with someone in Arendelle, arranging for them to transfer a case from the lower courts to the High court. He's in a bit of a rush, but he can't resist her when she's furrowing up her brow and forcing her breath to come out normally. He loves how hard she works to be his queen. He steps inside and, when she doesn't immediately notice him, hurries to sweep in and cut her next sentence off with a kiss.

"We'll be expecting the file to arrive on - mph!" Mal squeaks as he shoves the phone away from her ear to tangle his fingers in her hair. There are days when his suits are tailored and his skin is clear and he is every inch the king his parents hoped he would be. Then there are other days when buttons on his shirts have been hastily snapped off and possessive marks dot his neck and jaw and there is nothing anyone else can do about it but roll their eyes. Sometimes he is perfectly professional. Other times, he's a fool in love.

"I'm on the phone!" Mal protests. "Why are you here?" He can hear someone from Arendelle laughing on the other end of the call as they realize what happened. He's well-known for interrupting meetings, conversations, and interviews when he decides she's too darn sexy for him to pass up.

"I love you," Ben laughs, kissing her cheek as her face flares up the way it did the first few times he said it when they were teens. "And I'm heading to correct some negligence in our family."

"Negligence?" Mal askes, dumbfounded. "What did Tyler do now?"

Ben snorts. Of course, Mal would assume it was Tyler after all the years they spent trying to get their middle child to shape up. He's an adult now, though, and not even living in the palace. He shakes his head as he heads back to the door, gesturing to Mal to finish her call up and he'll tell her later.

He has to speed up to make it down the entry staircase and out the front door before Belle comes down or before her friends show up, and then he takes a right and goes wandering through his Mom's rose garden to the left of the palace while he waits for Belle's friends to reach the front.

A red pickup truck pulls in, with three teens in front and a large group in the back. They don't notice him as they pull to a stop in front of the palace. The front door opens and Belle dashes out, purple hair up in a ponytail and a black leather jacket over her shoulder with an old school backpack in one hand as she dashes out to the truck in a frantic panic. One kid jumps out - a boy with muddied boots and a black long-sleeved shirt, and he helps her step up on the wheel and swing her leg into the truck. "Don't we got to talk to your parents?" One girl calls from the front of the truck.

Belle waves them on. "No, we just gotta leave before they get out of office! Come on, let's go!"

Ben pinches his lips together. Hmm.

She sits down in the back and then the truck lurches to a roll. They start to pull away, music loud and everyone laughing. Before they can pass the rose garden, Ben steps out and walks slowly out to the center of the driveway. For a moment, the teens don't see him, and then the truck screeches to a stop about seven feet in front of him. Ben just presses his lips together again. The kids in the front seat stare at him for several long seconds, and one of the girls has the decency to look sheepish. "What's going on?" Belle yells from the back.

Ben walks around the truck with his arms folded, nodding to the driver as he passes. He appears on the side Belle is leaning against and appreciates the looks of horror that pass each of her friend's faces. Belle's mouth curls down into that perfect pout she got from her mom. It used to get her out of lots of trouble, but it's not going to work now.

"Dad..." She moans slowly, shoulders slumping. She's just barely finished pulling on her jacket.

Ben walks to the back of the truck and pulls on the lever to release the back of the truck. It falls down with a little thud and Ben takes a moment to glance over the teens in the backseat. Belle is sitting perpendicular on her date's lap with her back to the sides of the truck bed and her feet tangled up with her other friends from school. Tanner, Sophie, Preston, and Jackson are in the car, along with Mila, Carlos's daughter, and a couple other kids that she probably knows from school. It's not unlike how he and Mal used to go around with their friends back during everyone's college years when they were all twenty. The difference was that his parents always knew where he was going and who he was with. And then, most importantly, what time he and Mal would be separated for the night. (They didn't necessarily care about who got home first or where they went once they were separated, but if they were falling asleep somewhere together there would be a debt to pay later on.) And it was only with Mal since everyone knew from day one that he was committed to her. If Ben wanted to sleep over at Evie's, fine, but they also had to know where he and Mal would be and who would be watching them.

There had been times that his mom or dad had stopped him before going out with friends like this. His mom had grabbed his arm and threatened dismemberment if she heard he and Mal had snuck off anywhere the first time that they'd left in this manner. But that was always inside, not in front of friends like this.

Belle's date looks mortified to have been caught sneaking the princess out of the palace with said princess's arm around him. He carefully removes Belle's arm while flushing and avoiding Ben's gaze. Belle looks heartbroken as Ben gestures her forward by holding out his hand and flexing his fingers with a small nod to the palace. It's a trick he learned from Hades, and he's grateful for it. Belle deflates and picks up her backpack dejectedly. She stumbles over everyone's feet. Ben seizes her upper arm when she's close enough and helps her climb out. She only starts arguing once she's on the ground. "Dad, we're just going down to the pier. You never let me go out with anyone fun."

Ben crosses his arms. "No. I never let you go out with anyone who'll hurt you."

"They're not gonna hurt me!" Belle protests, flinging her arm out in the direction of the truck. "Why can't I go?"

"Because I also don't let you go out when you're grounded," Ben replies, raising one unimpressed eyebrow.

"Grounded?" Belle repeats, furrowing her brow together.

"Grounded," Ben repeats, turning her towards the palace and shoving her shoulder to move her forward. He hates having to play the mean parent, but he's not going to put up with her sneaking out. She's still a princess, no matter how much like her mom she is. He's not going to let her be hurt. "For lying and breaking our rules. Go to your room. I'll send your mom up in a moment and you can explain to her what you were trying to do."

He's sending Mal because all three children are scared of their mother when she's angry. Five minutes of scathing disappointment under his wife's glowing green gaze and Belle will never want to leave home again, much less without permission.

Belle hangs her head and begins her shameful walk back to the palace. Ben turns back to the kids in the truck. He glances at the second generation islanders first. "Your parents better know that you're out," He warns them. Then, he focuses on the scared-stiff boy in the back of the truck. "If you would like to take my daughter out," He begins, "You have to meet me first. That is the rule."

Ben then lifts the truck bed back and pushes it into place. He steps back and gestures for the truck to continue its trek, sans one, down the driveway. The teenagers pull away in silence.

The front door is left open, which would piss Ben off even more if Belle wasn't sitting on the bottom step, waiting for him with tears running down her face. "Dad, why'd you do that?" She hiccups. "You're being mean. None of my other friends have to have their parents meet every single person at the door. I just wanted to go out for an hour. I would have been back at sundown."

"Well, that would have been a much more appreciated sentiment before you were jumping in and yelling about how you needed to leave before your parents got out of office," Ben raises his eyebrows at her. "And Belle, none of your other friends are attached to the crown. People get famous off of dating princesses. People could want to hurt you as a token of pride. I'm not going to let someone take advantage of you."

Belle hiccups and scrubs at her eyes before she breaks down. "Can you please not tell mom?" She whispers. "I won't try again. Please?"

Ben almost gives in when he sees how pitiful she looks with black streaks running down her cheeks. This is still his baby princess who was so excited whenever he'd put plastic or paper crowns on her head at birthday parties and who was so proud when people started commenting about how much like her dad she looked instead of always saying she had Mal's green eyes and purple hair. But he tilts his head, knowing there's no way in Auradon or on the Isle he's not telling Mal about this, and gives her a soft look that makes her start to cry harder. She stands up, stomping her foot, and begins to climb the stairs in despair.

"Belle?" He calls before she can get very far, and she huffs as she turns back around. He holds out a hand. "Phone." He demands.

Belle screws up her face as she whips out her touchscreen and drops it into his hand. He slips it into his pocket and then she turns and storms away to her room.

Ben walks back up to his office to continue work. On the way up, he stops by Mal's office and drops Belle's phone on her desk. Mal looks up from where she's searching through a filing cabinet, squints at the phone, and then turns to him for an explanation. Since they can remote-access anything on their children's devices and need to make sure their children can always reach the palace, it's not often they remove cell phone privileges.

"What happened?" She asks in a dull tone.

"I took care of it," Ben assures her by way of explanation. "But I need you to do the punishment part." He puts his index finger down on Belle's phone as his way of telling Mal she's not allowed to have it.

"That bad?" Mal stares.

"Don't go dragon when you hear," He tells her. "And I would do it now so she doesn't get herself together only to fall apart again." Get the bad parts all over with so she doesn't have to cry herself out twice.

Mal snaps the filing cabinet closed and slips the phone into her pocket. "Bye," She says as she kisses his cheek and slips out. Ben watches her go with a sigh. Thank goodness he married an Isle girl and not an Auradon princess, otherwise, it'd be his job to frighten the kids into submission and he's not one to be able to withstand tears for long.

Goodness, how is he going to survive Belle's dating phase?

* * *

Belle manages to have one or two successful, small, low-key group dates before Derik shows up on his doorstep. The kid has a buzz cut, acts as if he's a soldier, and when Belle cracks a joke at the front door, he doesn't get it. Ben sends them off with a wave and a roll of his eyes and doesn't say anything when Belle sneaks back in twenty minutes later, frustrated."At least she's slowly learning, right?" He tells Mal.

* * *

Things get harder then. Belle has a running list of what she wants. Someone kind, someone who will compliment her outfit and open doors for her, someone who will check all her parent's boxes and who is funny and fun to talk to. She doesn't just accept dates with anyone because she's flattered they asked anymore or because they look nice. Now it's with friends and people she's known for a while. Which makes it a lot harder if Ben has to say no.

Her science lab partner shows up for dinner one night. Belle's two older brothers Zach and Tyler get a little confused when they see him. Zach travels a lot, doing things for the throne since he's 'technically' king now. Tyler works in town, managing a restaurant that he actually started at by washing dishes. So they both have been busy and kinda oblivious to the fact their kid sister is dating. It rocks them a little when they find out.

Babel is the kid's name. It throws Ben off for a second because he hasn't heard anyone with that name, but then he nods and offers the kid a chair and then shakes his head at Mal when Babel's back is turned. He already knows this isn't going to work out. Twenty minutes into dinner, he realizes why.

"So, you're third in line for the throne, right?" Babel asks Belle, cutting off her and Tyler's rendition of something they used to do together as kids. Ben feels Mal's hand hit the table before she moves it over to set her fingers over his, and he sighs internally. It's something that came up with each of their sons whenever they started talking to girls(and boys. Tyler has experimented a little). The matter of the crown.

Belle frowns a little. "Uh, kinda." She nods and then attempts to relaunch into her story.

"Kinda?" Babel asks. "What do you mean?"

Belle sighs. "Well, I'm not of age yet, so I can't be queen until then. So until I'm sixteen, my parents actually are in line before me. If something happened to Tyler or Zach, the crown would go back to them. But once either of them gets married, my right of inheritance gets bumped back. So if Zach married, his wife would be second. And if they had a kid, the baby would be third. And then Tyler would be fourth, dad fifth, mom sixth, and I'm last in line before you go to my grandparents."

"And then your husband after you?" Babel asks.

Belle frowns and has a million-and-one questions about the crown and the kingdom and what Belle's allowed to do and "have you ever used your status to bend the rules". It makes Ben sad because he can tell Belle liked this kid before he started trying to insinuate what her reaction would be if both of her brothers happened to go missing. He knows as his daughter leads Babel to the door that night, that he won't be seeing the boy again, and that it probably won't be the last time someone dates her for a shot at the throne of Auradon.

When Belle shuts the door and then slumps against it with a disappointed sigh, Ben steps up behind her and gives her a hug. "Dating is so hard!" She complains. "Can't I find someone who is nice and cute and who likes me and not the castle?"

Ben understands. He was once dating Audrey, after all. He sighs and squeezes her tighter. There's not a lot else he can do.

* * *

They get a system, he and Mal do. As boy after boy with the occasional appearance of a girl appear and leave on their doorstep in varying degrees of failure, they both start picking up on signals and body language. And then there are predictions.

"She's not leaving the property," Mal whispers as they watch her get into a small coupe with a smashed-in passenger side door.

"She'll be back late," Ben hums when someone opens the door to a large, red truck and helps her in.

There's still the occasional time that someone unfavorable shows up, but all Ben has to do is glance between his daughter and the person outside, say "No", and she'll lead them away with a sigh. If they're particularly cute or nice, he'll get a whine of "Dad, why?", but she trusts him after the first few problems she had.

Still, she's a teenager, and she's growing surer of herself. Ben knows it can't be long before she starts to disregard his advice.

It finally happens one evening in October.

Two weeks from his and Mal's anniversary and Lumiere pages up to say someone has arrived for Belle. Ben goes down, opens the door, and finds himself peering into a pair of clear, blue eyes. Someone with tanned skin and curly black hair and bright eyes stands behind his door with a confident smile. He's all dressed up in slacks and a red button-down shirt and his teeth are whiter than paper. Ben feels a headache come on. This won't end well.

"Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty," the boy extends a hand to shake. "My name is Jayme. What can I call you?"

"Ben," Ben replies softly. He doesn't recognize his last name when it's called since it's so uncommon to use it. "Nice to meet you, Jayme. Belle hasn't come down yet. I'll walk up and get her. Feel free to come in and wait in the formal."

Jayme gets past the front door, which is an accomplishment in and of itself, and Ben walks up the stairs. He glances back to see what Jayme thinks of the place. He briefly examines the family portrait on the wall and then the rug under his feet, and then takes a deep breath and waits. A bad feeling churns in Ben's stomach.

He knocks on Belle's door and she calls for him to come it. She's sitting at her dresser, finishing applying a dark pink shade of lipstick. She looks classy and elegant with her black dress and her purple hair all curled.

"Your date is here," he calls, leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh, great!" Belle smiles as she turns back around. "You met him then? What did you think?"

"No," Ben shakes his head. The smile drops off of Belle's face. "No, sweetheart, he's not the right person yet."

"What's wrong with him?" Belle frowns. "Did he not introduce himself or something? He might be nervous - it's pretty intimidating having to meet the former king."

"Belle, I think you should stay in tonight," Ben sighs. He knows, though, from the tone of her voice, that she's dug her heels in. She's like her mom and both of her grandmothers. When she thinks she knows, she knows.

"No," Belle replies, a sound that breaks Ben's heart. "I'm looking forward to tonight. I know he'll take care of me and I know that we'll have a good time. And if he doesn't, then there's always magic and pepper spray and 1-2-1." She taps on her cell phone as a further reference to Auradon's emergency number.

Ben sighs and opens up the doorframe. She steps through, expression still sour, and then heads down to the foyer. Mal is there now. She's smiling and laughing as he and Jayme talk. He catches the punchline of a joke before Belle steps out into sight and heads down the stairs. Jayme's mouth falls open a little when he sees her, and a blush blooms across Belle's cheeks. He tells her she looks beautiful, kisses her hand, and offers her his arm. Mal looks proud.

Ben comes down the stairs and ignores Belle's pointed gaze as he loops his arm through Mal's. "Be home by eleven," he tells her and then shows them both to the door.

They watch Jayme escort Belle out to a silver car with a black interior that he opens with a smile. She smiles as she gets in and the twisting in Ben's heart increases.

"Well, I think she finally got it," Mal laughs as they close the door. "He's a really nice kid. I like him." She puts her arm around his waist and kisses his cheek. "What did you think?"

Ben shakes his head and puts an arm around her shoulders. "No," he says.

That's all he'll say on the matter.

* * *

Belle comes back overjoyed. Everyone is regaled with tales of Tayme over breakfast, and her phone is constantly abuzz with messages from him. Mal is just as excited for her. Mom and daughter stay up late talking about Belle's new relationship and comparing it with Ben and Mal's from back when they were teens. Ben just shakes his head.

Two weeks later, on their third date, Jayme asks her to be his girlfriend. She changes her social media statuses and makes her new profile picture a shot of him kissing her on the cheek. Ben knows the night she has her first kiss with him because she stumbles through the front door grinning like a fool and almost crashes into the stair banister.

Magazines write stories of him and her together, the boys slowly warm up to him and welcome him into their circle and all the while Ben has this pit of dread expanding in his chest because he already knows that somehow, this relationship will end with Belle heartbroken.

Belle counts all the months with growing pride and glee. First one, then two, suddenly they're at four and then five, and then one day she's coming to him with a bright smile and putting a watch down on his desk with the question "Is this a good anniversary gift?" on her lips.

"Yes," he answers with a nod. "He'll like that a lot."

"You like him now, right Dad?"

Ben pinches his lips together and gives a forced sort of shrug. "He's not the one," he whispers, and Belle's face twists.

"I think he is!" She protests. "Come on, what did he do wrong?"

Ben shakes his head. It's not that the kid has done anything wrong - it's just he can't see this lasting. Jayme seems like a great kid, but he's not going to make her happy in the long run. Nothing will change that. Sure, he may know her favorite orders to all her favorite fast food places and knows the places he and Mal used to take their family while she was growing up and he might have been invited to spend Christmas Eve with the family and all of Mal's old friend's families, but Ben knows like he knew he'd die for her the day she was born that this is just not going to work.

Belle leaves in a huff and stops speaking to him. She must have assumed that Ben was slowly warming up to Jayme, and now she's angry to find otherwise. Mal comes to him then with questions like: "What's going on with you?" "Why don't you like him?" "Are you sure you're not just upset she's getting older?" She doesn't quite know what to make of his responses - he's calm, nonchalant, but adamant against Jayme.

Jayme himself comes up one day to talk with Ben. They walk out on the grounds and talk about Belle and Mal and everything under the sun. "Do you not like me?" Jayme asks, innocently enough.

Ben gives him a once-over. "I'm not against you personally," he tells the kid. "But you and my daughter aren't right for each other."

Jayme looks appropriately hurt. "I love her," he assures Ben, and Ben has to keep himself from rolling his eyes. "Is there any way I can convince you of that?"

Convince him? Belle is already convinced. He raises an eyebrow for a moment and then looks out over the clearing. "I've just been thinking of where she's planning to go," he lies to Tayme, testing the boy. "She came to Mal and I a few nights ago and said she might want to go live with her grandpa Hades when she gets older. Stay on the Isle and do service work out there."

Jayme stumbles back, shock falling over his face and horror frozen in his eyes. "What? But she-" he relaxes when he sees the look on Ben's face. "Oh. You were joking. Why?"

Ben shakes his head. He has his answer now. He knows. He closes his eyes and snorts. "Never mind," he replies. "What do you want to do when you're older?"

There's a lengthy response about how fascinated he is with politics and how he wants to especially work with displaced people from the former Isle of the Lost, but Ben ignores it all.

* * *

The breakup comes three days before their six-month anniversary, and it is every bit as bad as Ben anticipated. It breaks everyone's heart except for his. Belle locks herself in her room sobbing hysterically, listening to every depressing love song she can think of and going through gigantic boxes of chocolate and cotton candy. Ben gets the full story across the pillows of his and Mal's bed that night as Mal does her own crying.

Apparently, there was a phone call about their anniversary that she'd said goodbye to and then neither of them had hit hang-up in time. She overheard his friends laughing about her. There had been a lot - enough for them to break up but not enough to have Tayme arrested for malicious intent towards the royal family. Something about how Belle was beautiful but ditsy. Easy to please. Quick to look past problems. Something about how it would be nice to be king. Live in the palace. Drive nice cars and wear nice clothes. Something about how the Former King didn't seem to like him, but he thought he'd come around.

"How did you know?" Mal asks, wiping the last of her tears away as she curls against his chest like she's a kitten instead of a dragon. "How did you know what he was?"

Ben can only shrug. "I think it was because he looked at the portrait in the front hall weird," he lies. In truth, he has no idea, but he has to give Mal some sort of reason so that she can feel justified for missing it.

He lets himself into Belle's room the next day to find her curled up inside five thick comforters, two and a half empty boxes of chocolate beside her, and a stuffed animal from when she was three. Beauty and the Beast is playing on her phone.

Ben untangles her and then they sit together on her bed. She curls into a ball that he holds to his chest as she cries her little soul out on his shoulder. It's a few hours that they sit like that, just healing from everything.

"You were right, dad," she hiccups a little. "I'll listen to you next time."

He doesn't get any satisfaction from that. On the contrary, he sighs and kisses her head and just squeezes her tighter as she cries.

* * *

She starts bringing her phone to him when someone asks her out. It's a little weird at first, but his track record is pretty great. He can usually give her a shrug of "maybe" or a "no" within a few minutes. Belle still sometimes gets frustrated with the responses, but she doesn't question him anymore.

Mal regards him as if he possesses some sixth sense. It's pretty cool how impressed she is with him. Even though he's married her and there isn't really a reason to keep trying to impress her like he's still trying to catch her attention, he still gets overly proud of himself when she smiles like he's one of their children and she's proud of them. He made the right choice with this one.

Belle goes on a few dates here and there but nothing serious while she's still recovering from her betrayal.

Belle turns seventeen in April. It's been more than a year since she first tried to bring home that first kid, and Ben has to pause to ponder his own state at seventeen. Seventeen was after he had already met Mal. Seventeen was when she almost went back to the Isle and he'd chased after her, having his suspicions that she was "his person". He got that confirmation in the self-same year. He's glad that Belle isn't like him and that she hasn't fallen so hard at so young. Sure, it worked out pretty well for him and Mal and it would sure solve a lot of the "what if" questions they all have now, but he doesn't quite think she's ready for the kind of commitment he and Mal had from a very early point. To be fair, he and Mal had to have a lot of commitment - she was coming from the Isle of the Lost and denouncing her mother on live television and he had passed a law that allowed her to be in Auradon and had publicly dumped Audrey to date her. Also, she drugged him. Something he still likes to tease her about.

He has to give a lot of credit to his parents because if Belle brought home someone like Mal(or even if Zach or Tyler brought home someone like Mal), he'd be more than a bit wary. To bring in a girl who kept knives up her sleeves and who more often than not kept her mother's spellbook tucked inside her jacket and then to bring in the story of how she gave him a spelled cookie to try and destroy Auradon before accidentally tripping over everything she'd been taught and falling in love with him. He hopes he'd have the same patience they did.

For Belle's seventeenth birthday party, they close off the woods that hold the enchanted lake, string up thousands of colorful lights in the trees, and then bring in tons of food and people. Evie, Jay, and Carlos all show up with their families in tow and it cheers Belle up to be around everyone else's families. They're all like cousins, those kids, because Mal and the rest of her "core four" are like siblings. Carlos was even the family member who gave Mal away to him at their wedding. He and Jay had fought over that right until Mal had implored Ben to find an alternative task for one of them and thus Evie had been the maid of honor, Carlos had walked Mal down, and Jay had been Ben's best man.

Ben doesn't know most of the people at the party. He recognizes a few kids that either Zach or Tyler or Belle have dated and he knows people from the courts that he had to deal with back when he was king and then there are a few old friends from Auradon Prep that make his children uncomfortable when they bring up old memories of their parents at school.

Zach and Tyler both bring their girlfriends. Zach is in his mid-twenties and has been dating Audrey's daughter for quite some time, which cracks both Ben and Mal up. They seem to like each other though, and Ben doesn't have anything against the girl. He just thinks it'll be a huge laugh between him, Audrey, and Mal if they end up getting married. Tyler has dated furiously, skipping around with different girls and boys(the greenest face Ben ever saw on Mal was the night he announced he was going out on a date with Uma's daughter) but his current fling is one of the girls from his graduating class who Ben rather likes. Her name is Faith, which is one of the names Ben requested for Belle back when she was born (along with Joy, Hope, and Charity, but he couldn't sway Mal to agree to any of his good-intentioned names).

Tyler and Faith swing around the buffet table and then come sit beside Ben and Mal. Ben has to chuckle at their choice of snacks. Faith obsesses over peaches and thinks they are the most delicious things to have ever existed. Meanwhile, Tyler...

"Give me some," Mal demands as soon as she sees his plate piled high with chocolate-covered strawberries. She reaches out to steal some, but Tyler shields his plate from her.

"No, mom!" He protests. "Go get your own!"

As Mal and Tyler began a squabble over Tyler's right to his chocolate strawberries("I'm your mother! You're supposed to take care of me!" "You have two legs and two hands! You get your own!"), Ben reaches out and shakes Faith's hand. She's chuckling a little and smiling as her boyfriend and his mom interact, and her smile grows a little wider as she smiles at Ben. He wishes that Belle could find someone and have things as easy as the boys have it.

Belle strolls over as the place is getting dark and the lights start looking like fairies hiding in the trees. She sits down so close to him that he couldn't even set his hand down if he wanted to and then drops her head onto his shoulder. She's exactly the same way Mal is when her mom gets tired. She just wants someone to hold her.

"What's got your goose?" He whispers, sliding his arm out from under her head and putting it around her shoulders.

Belle huffs and little tendrils of smoke escape her nostrils. Ben suspects she and Tyler, who also inherited Mal's purple hair, both have the ability to shapeshift into dragons, but since everything has been peaceful since the barrier fell, they haven't had to experiment too much with their powers. The closest either has come is when Tyler accidentally set a tree and then a field on fire when he went out drinking with friends for the first time a week after his twenty-first birthday. The kid holds alcohol about as well as Ben can, whereas Zach can retain his dignity no much how thick his BAC. He and Mal will always retreat to corners at parties to drink and talk - mostly about Zach's own childhood - while anyone who can't drink and remain conscious, like Ben and Tyler, keep away.

"Jayme said he was working on a song for my birthday," Belle confides in a small whisper, bringing Ben back to the present. "I'm just wondering what it would have been like."

"Probably more painful once you found out," Ben reasons softly, but he knows that isn't quite the answer she's searching for. He runs his fingers through her hair as she sighs dejectedly and curls up against his side.

He watches Zach lead Amber down a path closer to the enchanted lake. Their arms are linked together as they walk down. Zach pulls the crown off his head as soon as they leave the crowds and instead hangs it on his arm. Amber reaches up to ruffle his hair with a laugh and it throws Ben off a bit because she usually acts a lot like her mother, and Audrey would never have done that to him when they dated. Of course, Amber was Tyler's friend before she was Zach's girlfriend, so she's a great deal looser than her mother.

Belle gives a little, unhappy sigh at his side as Tyler jumps away from Mal's reach and then Faith appears with a second, more reasonable plate of strawberries for Mal. Mal sighs in happiness and then nudges Tyler. "Where can I trade you out for her?" She jokes.

"Give it a few years," Ben advises. "Maybe you can have both."

Faith blushes a deep red and hides her face as Tyler tilts his head, considering. Mal laughs - she knows he only teases them because of how badly they were teased for getting engaged so early in their lives.

Ben runs his fingertips through Belle's hair and hums. "You are my sunshine," He sings. "My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey."

Belle snorts and then hides her face in his shirt. "That's beautiful, Dad," She chuckles. "I love you."

On Ben's other side, Mal slumps into his chest. He chuckles and moves his arm to be around both of his spunky, spitfire girls. Mal drops a strawberry stem onto the ground before setting her hand against his chest.

Across the way, through the trees and underneath a patch of pink lights Ben suddenly notices a young man sitting all alone on a bench with a homemade card in his hands. He sits, staring at the ground, with his shoulders hunched and hands braced on his knees. Ben pokes Mal's side and she yelps as she comes to life under his touch. He points across the way and sees Mal squinting to follow his gaze. It only takes a moment of hesitation before he pokes Belle's side too. "Look at that young man over there," He directs. "Do you know him?"

Belle blinks a little and then turns around to see who he's talking about. "I think so," She nods. "We have English and French together. He's very smart."

"He looks lost," Ben hums.

Belle nods in agreement. "He does," She affirms, and then gets to her feet. "I think I'll go talk to him."

Mal sets her hand on his knee as soon as Belle is out of earshot. "Look at you, playing matchmaker," She teases. Ben furrows his brow. That wasn't quite his intention, actually.

Belle sits down beside the boy without announcing herself and when he looks up, he jumps. They exchange pleasantries. The boy hands her the card with a shaking hand. Belle takes it, opens it, and her entire face lights up as she reads the contents. She says something, and he laughs, and then something new that Ben hasn't felt with any of her flings up until this point takes place in his chest. Peace.

This is going to be okay.

* * *

A week later, Ben opens the door to let Auden inside the palace. The poor boy stumbles over the doorstep, looking around with wide, uncomfortable eyes. He swallows and then slowly extends a hand to Ben. "Hello, uh, sir," he stutters. "I'm Auden. I was hoping I could take Belle out tonight if, uh, it's okay with you?"

Ben smiles as he shakes Auden's trembling, sweaty hand. No one has asked him yet. "Hello Auden," He greets. "You can call me Ben, and yes, Belle will be down in a second."

Mal comes in from the front entryway and Auden shakes her hand too - something else that no one has bothered to do. Mal's hand is more often kissed, which annoys her to no end. She prefers handshakes and it shows as she smiles in approval at the young man in the entryway. Ben cracks a little joke that she only bites in dragon form and the kid laughs a little as Mal rolls her eyes.

There's a sound from up the stairs and then Belle appears with her hair down, wearing one of Mal's old Isle jackets and black slacks. She looks pretty with her makeup minimal and her smile bright. Auden's mouth falls open and he makes several gasping sounds in the back of his throat. "O-oh!" He exclaims. "You look so - just so beautiful! Wow!"

Belle blushes just like he does, dipping her head and trying to keep her smile from spreading even wider. Auden offers her his arm when she gets to the bottom of the stairs and Mal crosses her arms in silent approval. This kid is hitting every spot the others missed - checking every box. And for the first time, Ben doesn't feel worried or anxious about this. Even if they don't end up working out, it'll be on good terms. This kid isn't going to take advantage of her or ignore her or use her status to get where he wants. He's going to make her feel special.

And heaven help her if Belle doesn't do exactly the same thing.

"This place is so big!" Auden marvels, looking all around. "I'd get lost here."

Belle nods. "I'm thinking of moving out one day," she confides. "That's what my older brother did. I might go live on the Isle beside my Grandpa Hades."

"That'd be cool," Auden nods. "I haven't ever been to the Isle."

"We should go sometime," Belle suggests. "Mom took us all while we were growing up. I could tell you lots of stories about her."

Ben and Mal stand in the doorway as Auden and Belle head out. Auden makes sure to shake both of their hands again on the way out and thank them for letting him take their daughter out and promise to walk her to the door afterward. Another thing no one has even thought to do. They catch snippets of conversation as he takes her down to a beat-up blue civic in the driveway and opens the door for her and helps her in. "She'll be back late," Mal hums against his shirt, leaning her head into his shoulder.

Ben snorts a little and squeezes her tighter to him as the car starts and then slowly turns out onto the road. "You know," he begins with a chuckle, "I think we might survive the dating phase after all."

* * *

**Y'all know I'm a sucker for Parents Ben and Mal, right? **

**If you're watching for the next portion of Westward, I'm working on it; don't worry!**


	20. Her Royal Highness Outtake(baby scene)

**This is a deleted scene from Her Royal Highness that I decided to not include. It should still make sense as a stand-alone. If you want to read the rest of the story, you should go find it on my profile page.**

Ben scribbled his signature on one of the last papers of the day and then dragged the back of his arm across his forehead before sending the paper on a little sandstorm into a filing rack beside the door. He glanced at the clock. It wasn't really late yet - only four twenty-five, but today had been one of those lazy, nothing-to-do days where he'd been able to go slow, talk to people in his meetings a little more in-depth, and then get everything done systematically - in a neat and calm order. The entire day had had a golden-like aura of peace covering it.

Someone rapped the knuckles on the back of their hand softly against the doorframe and Ben looked up. His mouth twisted into a tiny smile when he saw Mal leaning against the door, one hand up beside her head with the palm facing out - that would be the one she'd knocked with - and the other curled around her belly like she was trying to support herself.

"Hey," He greeted her, and let his eyes skim over her. She had this look about her - like she was nervous and prepared and wanting something to lean on all at once. He pushed his chair back and then waited for a second, expecting her to step into the room, before he finally stood up. "You taking a break from work?" He asked.

"I've been working up in our room," Mal explained with a little breath. "Just been feeling uneasy all day." She rubbed her hand up a fraction as Ben circled his desk and went to stand in front of her, reaching out and putting a hand to the small of her back as he did. As she'd gotten more and more pregnant, she'd refused to allow herself to slouch or even to walk strangely. It was a bit odd to see her move so quickly and smoothly when he knew that, logically, she was twenty pounds heavier and the weight of the baby should make her want to fall onto her face. But she managed it well and the only consequence was that her back got tired from holding the new weight all the time. She didn't show it - a principle of Isle endurance - but he knew she hurt.

"My water broke," She confessed, putting her free hand on his forearm. "That's what I came down here to tell you. I'm, uh, about to go into labor."

Ben's skin grew icy. He exhaled slowly. "Okay," he agreed. "Do you still want to stay here, or do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"I want to stay here," Mal's voice was firm even if her hand shook a little from nervousness.

Ben forced himself to nod again. 'This is her endeavor. However she wants to go through with it, you support her,' he told himself. "Do you want anyone there?" He asked.

Mal's hand tightened on his arm a little. He took her hand from her belly and squeezed it. "I'll be there," he promised. "But… anyone else? Sophia? My mom? I could call someone, too."

"No," Mal declined. "Just you." She took another little breath. "Can you clock out and shut down now? It'll still be a little while, but I want you to be around."

"Of course," Ben agreed. His chest felt unnaturally tight - Mal still hadn't come around to the idea of doctors, and he didn't dare suggest for one after the last time she'd snapped at him. He sort of understood. She didn't want to be exposed to anyone besides him. She didn't want anyone giving her instructions. There had been bad things on the Isle - mistakes from people trying to help - and she didn't trust anyone who would do anything to her body. But still, it was hard to let go of everything he'd been told growing up as a sheltered kid in Auradon. 'When a woman goes into labor, you take her to the hospital.'

Ben shut down his computer, put all his work away, and then shut and locked the door before putting his arm around Mal and walking with her down the hall. For a woman who was probably experiencing some sort of intense contractions, she didn't lean on him very much. Just took deep breaths and let her arm settle around his waist as she walked.

"Our room still?" He asked. Mal nodded. "You realize you could have called me and I would have come up. You didn't need to walk all the way down only to go all the way back."

"Walking helps," Mal explained with a tiny shrug of her shoulders. "I tried sitting down for a few seconds and didn't like it."

Ben sighed. Mal's arm tightened around his waist a little. He rubbed his thumb up and down her spine until she loosened it with a tiny breath. "I could get you something?" He offered. "An Advil, at the very least."

"I get high on those," Mal huffed. "I don't have any drug resistance, remember?"

He did remember. But he had been hopeful she'd cave just a little, at least to calm his nerves.

He opened the door to their room for her. Mal walked in but waited while he shut the door before he retook the space by her side again. "Wait," She stopped him, holding a hand up as she reached behind him. He turned and watched her nimble fingers click the lock into place. "I don't want any of the servants or Sophia sneaking in," she explained.

Ben sighed and nodded a little before looping an arm around her shoulders. "It'll be a while still, right?" He asked.

Mal nodded. "The pain is lasting longer now, but it's still too far in between."

Ben found her hand and squeezed it. "Where do you want to be?' He asked. Mal shrugged and then walked out from under his grip. He followed her into their room without a word.

They ended up curled up together, watching videos on his phone as the sky outside grew darker. Mal would occasionally take a deeper breath or give his hand a little squeeze if he happened to be holding it, but that was his only indication of whatever she might be going through. She was responsive enough - stealing his hand once to kiss his fingertips, humming along softly when a song came on that she liked, laughing quietly when jokes were told - but he still worried when that stubborn look came into her eyes and she curled her toes up a little through her socks(his socks, actually. She'd stolen them) and he'd call her name and she wouldn't turn.

His hands varied position - sometimes on her shoulders when she stretched her head uncomfortably, sometimes clutched in her hand, and sometimes tracing little patterns on her back as they stayed silent, listening to other people talk and just waiting. He kept his head close to hers, kissing her cheek or her hair but mostly staying silent in case she happened to whisper anything. The only time he left her side between five and eight was to escape to the bathroom to get her and him a glass of water. She sipped hers, closing her eyes, keeping her hand on her stomach until he put his beside her and then she was back and it was as if nothing was going on at all.

"Closer?" he asked Mal after the first movie, watching her stretch out her legs out and shift her spine a little.

"Closer," She affirmed. "But still time. Not much; just some."

She moved around a lot. He hadn't realized a woman in labor would do that, but he had to almost consistently switch the angle he was holding his phone at as she rolled towards him, then away from him, then sat up, then laid back down with an exasperated sigh to set one of her legs across his. It didn't bother him. He wasn't watching the movie anyway - it was on to distract Mal. He himself was letting his gaze shift from the ailing fairy to the sky outside, so he could gauge how much time had passed.

Halfway through what he assumed was Moana, though he hadn't really been watching, and with the sun starting to set outside, Mal set her hand across his phone screen and led him to set it down on the bed. "I want to move to the bathroom," she announced. "For easier cleanup."

Ben's heart thudded against his chest. "Now?" He asked, taking a little breath to steady himself.

"Soon," Mal nodded, squeezed his hand a little, and then swung her legs off their bed. Ben shut down his phone and came around to help her. She still moved remarkably well, but Ben could see how all the muscles in her leg were tense and she was moving a little slower than she had been before. "I'm okay," she assured him. It didn't sound like a lie when she said it in that tone of voice, but Ben was sure she had to have some bit of sarcasm behind it.

He set a filled glass of water down beside the bathtub and took four large, fluffy towels folded in fourths to line up along the inside of the tub. She got undressed herself and then he helped her sit down. She was closing her eyes now, still taking deep breaths, but her hold on his hand was steady. He'd heard horror stories of broken hands and crushed fingers - even his dad had been teasing him about how many profanities Belle had screamed at his birth - but it didn't honestly surprise him that Mal wasn't one of those girls. Aside from her palm being a little warmer, there was no difference from the way she would have held his hand on any other day.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, though he felt a bit dumb about asking such an irrelevant, obvious question.

"I am," Mal affirmed, voice soft and steady. That made him uneasy - wasn't she supposed to be yelling at him and madder than a hornet?

"What kind of pain are you in?" He asked, squeezing her hand to see if she'd squeeze back.

"My hips feel like they're being pushed out at a little," Mal explained slowly. "My lower back has lots of pressure on it. And my stomach… it almost feels like I've done too many sit-ups and now I can't relax it."

Ben couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping himself at her careful description. A ghost of a smile breezed past Mal's lips too. "The contractions are overlapping," She whispered. "But I don't think I need to push yet."

"How will you know?" He asked.

Mal shrugged. "I'm hoping I'll just know," She replied. "All the other girls on the Isle kind of knew when."

They were basing this off of instinct, then. Just him and her. Him with no experience ever having helped someone before and her with whatever demented experiences she'd had on that blasted Isle of the Lost.

Ben kissed her forehead. "Do you need anything?" He asked.

Mal hesitated, thinking. Then she shook her head and leaned her head back. Every single muscle in her body was tense except for her face, which he assumed she was keeping still to calm his nerves and maybe also to prevent headaches. "Talk," She demanded, closing her eyes.

Talk? About what? His mind was blank - he didn't have anything to say. The side of Mal's face twisted in pain for a split second and then relaxed again, and then words tumbled out of his mouth. "It scares me - what you went through over there."

Mal opened one eye. "I didn't do this over there," she told him. "I watched others do it, but not me."

"I'm not just talking about this," Ben spat. "I mean, yeah, childbirth and watching people die and that one girl you've told me about… that's scary. But I'm talking about the all, Mal. The small and the big."

"It's over," she reminded him. "This is my life now."

"I know that but every once in a while you do something like this and I realize that part of you is still living as if you'd never left," He reached down to touch her stomach. As she'd described, it was rock hard - like she was tensing all of her muscles at the same time. A chill ran over her skin and she gasped a little but schooled her expressions quickly.

"Like this?" She questioned him once the pain had paused.

"Like when you wake up beside me and you blink and you're so confused as to who I am because some part of you thinks you should be waking up in the dark on that Isle," Ben began. It surprises him how quickly it all comes out now that he's started. "Or when we're walking past a buffet table and you're hungry but can't stop so you hide things up your sleeves and in your bag - you've put crackers in your hair before, Mal. And then this…" He trailed off, watching sweat drip down her forehead. "I could call someone. Someone to help you."

"You're here," Mal shook her head. "And I know what I'm doing." She scrunched her forehead up then and then braced her legs against the tub for a few seconds. He squeezed her hand tightly, leaned forward to press his mouth to her cheek in a long, desperately worried kiss, And she smiled sideways at him like she found his worrying to be somewhat sweet.

Part of him thought she was absolutely insane, doing this at home in their bathtub without any medicine or a doctor or even a scream. The rest of him was blown away.

She didn't cry. Didn't even whimper. Occasionally her face betrayed her, but the majority of the process was just slow breathing and him rambling softly about her and their baby and everything under the sun until he suddenly had nothing to say and his mouth went dry. There was a part where she had to stop pushing and when he asked why, it's because she could feel the baby crowning. And that thought just turned his stomach because he couldn't physically get a handle on how she was just doing this all by herself. She released his hand. "I need something sharp," she told him. "Some scissors or something. And if you could get some clean thread, that would be useful too."

When he turned back around Mal was leaning forward and removing something from in between her legs. He couldn't hear anything for a few seconds because his ears were ringing, but then he focused and he could hear crying as Mal wiped her forehead off with the back of her arm and looked up at him with a tiny, reassuring smile. "I need those," She nodded at his findings - some scissors which were usually used to cut hair and two thick strings that had been tying a box closed. He collapsed beside the tub and handed them to her numbly. His hands didn't have any feeling in them and his knees felt like jelly as he watched Mal cut her baby loose from herself and then hand the newborn to him.

"Can you clean him off?' She asked. "There's still an afterbirth that I have to take care of. You'll probably not want to see it - it can be a bit nasty."

He took her word for it and turned around. He took her son - his son - their son - to the sink and made sure the water was warm before rinsing the child off.

How was he supposed to do this? He knew from Madison to not let their head drop too far back and don't twist their little arms and - god, he was so little! He fit in Ben's hands and he was taking tiny little breaths as he squealed(Ben didn't quite blame him for crying - he felt a bit like breaking down too and it's not like he was the one who just came out of-) and all Ben could think about is 'WhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhat.'

Still, he managed it and then wrapped the little one up in a towel to examine him in something like shock. The baby started to calm down as he warmed up, but he fussed still as Ben looked down at him. His head was conical - that's probably normal. His eyes were puffy and swollen. Tiny fists curled up beside his cheeks and he had Mal's nose and everything was just 'WhatWhatWhatWhatWhat.'

The 'what's' got slower as he started to take it all in. This was his son. What? It was their baby. What? His and Mal's little one. What? This was the crown prince. What? The heir to the kingdom. Wha-how?

He still had no clue.

He didn't realize Mal was all done and cleaned up until she leaned against his arm and nearly scared him into satellite orbit. She rested her head against his and then the ringing stopped. He looked back down at his son in his hands and then up into the mirror to examine his brand new family. Mal had stolen one of his bathrobes - they hung on the backside of the door and they were too big for her, but she tied it up snug around her hips and it was like a very large and furry dress. He glanced over his shoulder. Everything was clean. She must have taken the towels and dumped them into the laundry while he was in a daze. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to tune out,"

"That's fine," She assured him, waving a hand a little. "It's overwhelming."

He nodded with a long, slow breath. Mal sat back up and held her hands out for her little one. "Can I have him now?" She whispered. "I need to do some skin-to-skin with him so my body will start recovering."

Ben took her word for it that that was a thing and immediately turned to place the baby in her arms. She pulled down the collar of the robe and leaned her baby's weight against her collarbone before turning and walking back into the bedroom with him. Ben assumed it was so she could lay down or sit on their bed. He followed her, barely remembering to turn off the light as he left.

It was dark outside. Mal laid down on her side with the baby leaning up against her chest, his head pressed onto her chest, just far enough down so that she couldn't rest her chin on him. Ben went and laid down at her side. His phone was still on the bed where it had been abandoned. He put his head on her shoulder and then rested a hand on his son's back so he could feel the baby breath.

"Are you okay?" The question felt more justified now.

Mal shifted her weight. "Yeah," she agreed. "I think I tore a little, so I'll be sore for a day or two, but having him here helps." She ran a hand through his fuzzy hair with a little smile. "His head will look more normal in a day or two. And he'll open his eyes up later too."

"He's perfect," Ben breathed, letting his eyes trace the little person's frame. He had calmed down almost immediately after returning to Mal's arms. It appeared skin-to-skin was good for baby too, and not just mom. Now he was curling up into her frame, little rear end sticking into the air a little and breathing against Mal's skin with a little pouty lip. The baby had her natural pout. Oh dear, was Ben screwed.

"You can hold him again in a moment," Mal offered. "I think I'm supposed to hold onto him for the first half-hour or onwards, but you can hold him afterward."

"I'm okay to just watch," Ben exhaled. "And what are you doing?"

Mal shrugged. "It's just skin-to-skin contact. For baby and I. Evie explained it once to me on the Isle - it helps them adapt to breathing and eating outside of me and then it signals my body that I'm not pregnant anymore and that I need to start taking care of them."

"That sounds like a lie," Ben shook his head. "It sounds like you're lying to me just so you have a good excuse to hold him."

Mal laughed and kissed his cheek. Then she looked back down at their baby and ran a soft hand down his back. "We need to name him," She whispered.

"Not yet," Ben protested. "Mal, my brain is fried and I don't know how you're processing anything. We can't pick a name like this."

"I like Zach," Mal informed him, ignoring everything he'd just said.

"Apparently we can," Ben sighed, leaning his head back into the pillows. "Zach's not a bad name."

"Do you have any good middle names?" Mal asked.

Ben shrugged. "I don't suppose we could call him Zach Hades or Zach Adam, huh?"

"I don't want him to have anyone else's name," Mal wrinkled her nose. "He's his own person."

"That throws out Ben as well, then," Ben nodded. That didn't bother him too much, to be honest. Zach Ben didn't have the best flow. "We had a list. There was Charlie and Booker and Zane and Marshall-"

"I like Marshall," Mal cut him off. "Zach Marshall. Is that kingly enough for you?"

Ben's mouth felt a little dry. "Yeah," He agreed, voice cracking a little. "Yeah, I guess," He exhaled and watched Mal look down at their little baby. She scooted down to put her head against his chest and rolled toward him a little so that tiny Zach was nestled between them but still touching Mal's skin. He put his arms around her and watched her blink once, twice, before closing her eyes and falling asleep. He chuckled.

This was his family. That was his son and that was his wife. This was something he'd built. Built it with Mal and then welcomed Zach. Ben exhaled and then he, too, leaning into the covers and closed his eyes. No matter what happened or where he went, he was always going to remember this. This first perfect night with his two favorite people and the quiet being welcomed in with the peace. The first night of his next new adventure.


	21. HRH Outtakes

**Various small scenes that didn't make it into HRH**

* * *

Mal stood up with her arms still crossed and stared at the mural on the wall. Belle gathered up her own shorthand notes and came to stand beside the teen. They stared at the beautiful painting together.

"For our first anniversary, Adam hoped to have the library redone, but the plans took too long to be drawn up. So, two years later, for our third, they began work. I was pregnant with Ben that year. The paint fumes were too much for me most days, so I never saw the progress. Two weeks after he was born, I brought him in here for the first time, and that was the first time I saw the mural." Belle informed Mal.

"It's beautiful." Mal said, with her eyes flitting around the wall. "It offsets the library very nicely."

"It does, doesn't it?" Belle agreed.

Mal got the distinct feeling that Belle wanted to tell her something.

"You know, Mal? You're an incredibly brave girl. One of the bravest I've ever known. We both know this isn't easy, or fair."

"Life isn't fair."

"Of course, it is. Only fair means everyone gets what they need, not what they want."

"Not necessarily." Mal raised an eyebrow at the queen. "I'm not sure you know this, but you still have people starving to death in your country. Is that 'fair'?"

"Well, that's why we have you. To correct our mistakes." Belle shifted her workload and put an arm around Mal's shoulders. "Come on now, let's have dinner."

* * *

Her dreams smelled like wet cardboard and smog. They took place in a building where the floors were falling in and the ceiling had holes in it. An old television sat in front of a moth-eaten couch. A witch with horns was screaming so loudly Mal couldn't hear what she was saying.

It was her old home with her mother. The three villains were nowhere to be seen, but Mal could see Evie, Jay, and Carlos through the holes in the floor as Maleficent screaming louder and louder. None of the words made sense. Her mother's scepter was aglow with green energy as she howled. The foundations of the house shook. Dust rose into the air from the floor. One more shake, and the roof came crashing down on top of Maleficent in a colossal crash that left Mal's bones shaking at the joints. The screaming continued… continued. She looked for the source of the screaming in the rubble, but all was silent there. She caught glimpse of her face in the reflection of a sheet of aluminum. Her mouth was open wide. She was screaming… screaming… screaming.

* * *

That night, she found Ben, Belle, Adam, Sophia, Stewart, Lumiere and a tall, pale, woman with a sickly pallor who was introduced as Lumiere's sweetheart Plumette. When she entered, they all glanced up simultaneously, giving Mal the impression that they'd all been talking about her even though the room was silent.

Ben was pulling wood out of the wood box to put in the furnace. As Mal watched him pile it in, she frowned. "That's not how you build a fire." She reprimanded.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Piling it in like that… it'll take forever to get going. Here." Mal got down on the floor and began arranging the wood in the unlit furnace. She showed him how to make an alcove, so oxygen could get in, but it was harder for wind to blow the fire out. She started the fire and within a few minutes a small blaze was blowing.

"How do you know so much about this?" Ben asked when he and Mal sat back against the legs of a couch. Lumiere and Plumette had offered to move, but Mal and Ben had simultaneously decided the unhealthy woman needed the seat move than them.

"Practice on the Isle." Mal answered with a yawn.

Together on the floor, Mal didn't touch Ben until he opened his hand, palm up, for her to slip her fingers into. With the light of the fire casting orange shadows on them, she leaned her head on his shoulder and yawned. Behind them, Adam was pulling up a blanket around him and Belle, Lumiere was rubbing Plumette's chilly fingers, and Sophia and Stewart were whispering quietly with their knees touching. Mal reached into her pocket and pulled out the last of the strawberries she had snitched that day. She showed Ben with a cheeky smile and used her nail to clumsily break the berry in half.

With the taste of warm strawberry on her tongue and the comforting smell of smoke in the room, her eyes began to drift closed. As Ben's warm, strong fingers curled over her knuckles and twisted her marriage band around her finger, she dreamed of bright colors and soft smiles.

* * *

The door opened. Ben walked back in. He looked up and met her eyes.

"Wait." Mal told Elias. "I know we're in the middle of an interview, but – Ben!" She called.

Ben's head swiveled mid-step as he heard his name. Mal stood up and hurried over to him. The cameraman hadn't been planning on moving, but he swiveled the camera around to reveal everyone backstage as Mal hurried to Ben and wrapped her arms around him quickly.

"Quick hug." She murmured, and then sprinted back.

* * *

Mal returned in June with good, better, and best news. Good news, Ben could sleep again. Better news, donations for the Isle of the Lost had started to come in, and right before the Summer Solstice as well. Best news, three fae people had agreed to journey with her to the Isle of the Lost to help people receive their cards.

Ben met Mal outside in the sunshine as she pulled into the palace circle. As she kissed her husband and let him hug her a few seconds longer than necessary, something occurred to her that had been occurring to her a lot over the last few months. She might be in love. Like, the true love kind of love that only Evie had believed in on the Isle. She'd never thought it could happen to her, but here he was. It was pretty… amazing.

Stewart and Sophia were in love too, which was pretty great even though Mal didn't get to see Sophia as often anymore.

Life was moving onwards and forwards. Mal began to see her life spanned out in front of her as if were a moving picture. She could see the Isle healing and becoming self-sufficient. She could see herself falling in love with Ben over and over, every time she woke up beside him and every time she looked over and caught his gaze. She imagined him with laugh lines and thinning hair, and imagined grey streaks appearing in her hair. It didn't seem like a horrible fate. Doug had been right. She cherished this relationship with her husband.

Maybe one day there would be 'I love you's', and they'd be together the way married couples were supposed to be, and maybe, in a few years, children. Children so that there'd one day be a day when Ben and Mal could step down and live together the way Belle and Adam were now living.

"I missed you." Mal told Ben as three fae women stepped out of the car. "This is Myth, May, and Mercy. They're going to help me on the Isle."

"It's nice to meet you all." Ben said, wrapped an arm around Mal's shoulders. "Thank you for coming. I can help show you all to some rooms where you can stay."

May nodded, and Mal stopped only long enough to pull her suitcase and bag out of the car. By now, she was good at it and had learned to wrap her bag around the handle of the suitcase, so she only had to pull one thing. The three Fae followed Ben and Mal into the palace, where they were shown to three different ground-level rooms that opened into the gardens. The Fae women seemed very pleased.

"Anything interesting happen?" Ben asked.

"Yes, actually." Mal said. "Those three women are planning on taking architectural ideas back to the moors. They're going to break grounds on palaces, huts, and homes. Everyone is very excited."

"Will that ruin the forests?" Ben asked, interested as always.

"No. We're building it out of the way, in an area of the moors slightly damaged from the wars against Stephan's kingdom. They didn't want to loose the natural aspect of the land." Mal explained.

"That's good." Ben nodded. "You going to the Isle soon, then?"

"Tomorrow, hopefully." Mal gave Ben a sympathetic glance. "I'll be back before dark though. Think you can hold out?"

"I'll do my best." Ben chuckled. He clutched her hand tightly. "I missed you." He told her.

Mal pecked his cheek. "Missed you too."

Ben picked up a lock of her hair. "The fairies grew out your hair again."

"They did." Mal sighed. It was back to being shoulder length. "Give it another three visits and it'll be back to where it was."

They reached their room and Mal put her suitcase on the bed in their bedroom and began to unpack. Ben sat down on the bed and watched her as she worked.

"You know what sounds nice?" She started.

"What?" Ben asked with a smile.

"Oh, you and me." Mal started with a smile. "Strawberries, and a cheesy hero movie. We could watch Mulan or Giselle. I've heard they're really good."

"Giselle's is funny." Ben nodded. "You'd probably like her a lot."

"Sweet." Mal said as she put a pair of shoes on a shelf and leaned against the closet door frame to smile at Ben. "It's a date then?" She asked.

Ben gave her a double thumb's-up, and Mal smiled to herself as she went back to her packing.

* * *

The situation on the Isle grew hazardous. Travel outside of the city stopped one night when villains kidnapped a citizen who'd been skirting the wharf and killed her within view of the city. Her body was left to swing from a tree. Mal asked Ben to carry through a message to not travel outside unless absolutely necessary.

A school had started on the Isle, along with several businesses that had started up all without Mal's help. The Deavor girls were keeping track of all the records, all the people, everything. Mal had gotten them two tablets and they had created an entire interdimensional web space where they stored classified data and created official documents, though they were only allowed to do that with Mal's permission.

Meanwhile, more people were dying inside the villain-closed section of the Isle. Screams and cries for help rose continually from the sector, even though many people believed there was no help for them.

Mal was determined to do something.

* * *

Everyone nodded their heads and hurried to their new homes with their possessions. Only a little boy with a black bowl cut lingered. He put his hands behind his back as he walked forward.

"Are you the King n'Queen?" He asked softly.

"Yes." Mal sat forward on her ankles. "Do you need help?" She asked.

"I wanted to tell you I'm Martin, and my mom is Margaret." He said. "I'm a son of Gaston. I wanted you to know I like my mom more."

Ben laughed. He held a fist out to the boy, who stared at it, then slowly tapped his fist against the King of Auradon's. "I don't care who you like more. Besides, you don't have to be like either of your parents. I mean, look at Mal and I."

The boy nodded, and quickly took off running towards the beach. Ben and Mal watched him go.

"He's precious." Mal chuckled softly.

"You've done really well with the Isle." Ben said, taking Mal's hands and kissing her knuckles.

"Thanks." Mal replied with a smile, pulling her hands out of Ben's as she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Now." Ben quickly swung her off her feet and into his arms as she squealed. "Let's get to work. We have a kingdom to build."


	22. HRH Outtakes 2

**Copied and pasted straight from my rough draft, this has zero editing and didn't make it into the final story. **

There was thirty minutes until the new year began, and Ben and Mal were dressed in their finest as they walked down the entrance hall together in Beast's castle, two days later. Belle, Adam, Madison, Lumiere, Plumette, Sophia, Stewart, Jay, Carlos, Evie, Ella, Dizzy, Erick, Ericka, Jack, Elsa, Jessie, Jarrett and Audrey were all gathered outside the doors, fixing last-minute gowns and greeting each other with wide smiles. Dizzy was spinning in a blue and red dress with a golden crown tucked into her curls, and Jarrett was fidgeting as Audrey adjusted his tie for the ninth time, keeping her hands on his chest with a sultry smile.

As Mal hit the bottom of the stairs with Ben at her side, Jay, Evie, and Carlos appeared out of nowhere.

"You look lovely." Evie sighed as she bent down to pull out the flounce in Mal's skirt.

"You really outdid yourself, E." Carlos muttered as he smiled at their old friend. Mal was wearing an A-line purple dress that she was trying hard not to stumble in. As Evie pulled the flounce out further, Mal prayed that Evie wouldn't notice she was wearing tennis shoes underneath her skirts. Ben was wearing his second-nicest dark suit, with the first being the one he'd married Mal in. The most striking thing about Mal wasn't her short hair, which almost matched Belle's, or the dress. Rather, it was the small swell that Mal was actively guarding around her waist that marked her as nearly three months into her first pregnancy.

"You look like you're sporting a little weight there, Mal." Jay teased as he helped Mal through the crowd and to the door. Ben let her hand go with a smile as Evie began to fix him up and assure his crown was firmly on his head.

"Ugh, blame the pineapple." Mal rolled her eyes with a happy smile. "I've been craving that crap like crazy. My mouth has been begging for mercy."

Audrey laughed as Mal passed. "It's good, you can't deny!" Jarrett smiled shyly and kissed her cheek while her head was turned.

Mal took Madison from Belle and held her up for Jay to see. Jay's eyes lit up as he tickled the smiling child under her chin. Madison laughed and giggled.

"She's getting so big!" He commented.

"Six months old." Mal agreed. "She can hold her own bottle, sit all by herself, and she's started to babble."

As if Mal's words had triggered a reaction in the small girl, Madison began to coo. "Aba-ah-du…" She babbled as she stuffed her little fist into her mouth. Mal laughed.

"Belle says she's finally as big as Ben was as a newborn." Mal told Jay. "Crazy, huh?"

"Sheesh." Jay said, looking back and forth between Madison and Mal. "You'd better hope your kid gets your genes, so you don't die during childbirth."

Mal scoffed. "As if anything could kill me." She said, handing Madison back to Belle. "I'll lay down my life when I'm ready and feel like it."

Jay laughed. And Mal bumped him with her hip. "What about you?" She asked. Jay blushed. "I've been seeing this girl… she just came back to Auradon Accelerated from the war. Do you know Lonnie?"

"Lonnie?" Ben asked, coming up behind Mal and putting his arms around her. "Mulan and Shang's girl?"

"Wow, look at you, Jay." Mal smiled. "That's great."

"I'm not the only one." Jay straightened up. "Carlos asked the Fairy Godmother's girl out. Jane? She came with all her classmates from Auradon Prep to look at campus and they hit it off. And Evie asked your IT guy, Doug, for help, and now he's also helping her start an on-campus business where she designs and makes clothes for people. She's calling it Evie's 4 hearts."

Mal's face dropped. "Evie's four hearts?" She asked.

Jay nodded. "You know, because there's four of us. Her, me, Carlos…" He took Mal's hand and squeezed it. "And you."

Mal smiled. Her eyes were a little wet, but no one said anything as she wiped them away. "I love it." She said. "What a wonderful name.

"Are we ready?" Sophia asked as she peered outside. "There's twenty minutes left. Ben, Mal, are you planning on talking to the press at all?"

"Yeah." Mal nodded before Ben could answer. "It's the end of the war and a brand-new year. We both have a few things prepared."

Ben nodded and patted his pocket, where the rustle of papers could be heard.

Lumiere cleared his throat. "I would like to say something before the doors open." He told everyone. The room quieted as Lumiere brushed invisible dust off of himself. "Living in the palace and serving Adam's father, and then Adam, and then Belle and their son Ben has been a joy. Not always was it easy, and I will pick my human form over my candelabra prison every day, but a joy, nonetheless. However, as many of you have been so kind as to point out, I am taking on years." Lumiere held his hand out to Belle and fell to his knees. "Ma chère," He murmured, kissing her hand. "It is time for me to take my retirement. I wish to spend the remainder of my days with my lovely Plumette, however numbered those days may be."

Belle's eyes filled with tears. "Of course, Lumiere, but please, visit often. You've been here ever since I came here as a young girl. The palace won't be the same without you. Is there any way I can help you on your way?"

"No." Lumiere shook his head. "But I am greatly endowed by your presence whenever you enter the room." He flicked Madison on the nose lightly. "Be good, young one." He whispered.

Lumiere took his place by the doors and opened them for those inside, presumably for the last time. Mal was holding back tears as she shook Lumiere's hand and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Good luck." She whispered.

Lumiere smiled and cupped her cheek. "I won't need it. And neither will you, Queen Mal."

Ben took her arm as Lumiere announced to the crowd outside: "Please rise for their royal highnesses, King Ben and Queen Mal of Auradon, the Isle, and the Moorlands! Returned war veterans and heroes of Tartarus!"

Ben took Mal's hand and squeezed it before he led her out into an array of flashing cameras. A large, beautiful moon was rising outside. Almost two hundred people were gathered for a party on the grounds below. Reporters were gathering at the base of the porch. As Lumiere announced everyone behind them, Ben and Mal made their way to the reporters. Mal was pleasantly surprised to see Elias standing in the crowd. "Elias!" She smiled, reaching out and shaking his hand. "You're here!"

"Aye!" He agreed. "Care to spare a few words for me?"

"Go ahead." Mal affirmed. "Be a shark." She winked, and cameras flashed.

Elias laughed. "I should probably ask if you have anything prepared first, yes?"

Mal laughed as Ben slipped her paper into her hands. She unfolded it and cleared her throat. "I hope you have a video feed going." She told the reporters. "Because you're not going to want to miss a single word of this."

Cameras zoomed in and the reporters shushed each other loudly. Mal smiled. "We've been keeping secrets." She announced. "But all that is over now. Many of you have wondered why I was brought here, where I came from, and why everything was so rushed while we were all staying so quiet. The truth is, the castle knew almost nothing about me until Ben went in for his preliminary checks for the kingdom, and it was discovered my mother had attempted to recreate a soul bond in the form of a blood anchor. She had cursed him so that he could nary become king, nor could he have any power of crown unless I was also given ruling power over Auradon. The palace, assuming my mother had already told me everything and we had been waiting for this day for years, hauled me off of the Isle to keep me captive inside the palace until they figure out what to do. Coming to Auradon, I feared torture, exile, and even execution. No one was quite sure what to do with me once I arrived, though."

Mal paused to ensure she still had the reporter's attention as she continued to read. "I became queen with zero power because they still didn't know what kind of person I was. Throughout it all, Ben had the upmost faith in me. He was the first person who thought I would be able to make something extraordinary out of me. Many nights were spent staying up talking, laughing, and watching old Auradon hero movies."

Mal flipped her paper over. "The curse was loosened last June, and I was given the option to abdicate my throne, give up the responsibilities and go home if I wanted. I chose to stay because I couldn't imagine a life without the man I'd come to love. Or rather, I could imagine it, and I didn't want it. Then, a little over a month ago, when Ben was captured by the villains on the Overland, I ventured up there and found that a magical girl with poisonous magic had scratched him, and he was starting to die by magical poisoning, the same thing that took my mother. When I brought him back to Auradon, he was hours from death. Rapunzel, Fairy Godmother and I teamed up to accomplish something that had never before been accomplished, and we forced the magic in his system to turn itself around. Fairy Godmother's magical wand was melted in the process. When it was over Ben- well, I'll let him tell you that part." She and Ben shared a smirk.

"And finally, last week, when we ventured into Tartarus, Ben was forced to leave me behind to die." Mal felt her eyes well up with tears and her hands began to shake. "I had used all of the magic at my disposal and I had managed to melt Eris, the goddess of discord, into a fiery prison. I had no energy as Ben tried to pull me through the gates of Tartarus only to discover Eris had sealed the barrier. I could not travel through without sand magic and could not be turned into sand without killing our baby in the process. We both knew there was nothing we could do. He could have stayed behind, but we both would have died to no avail. I begged Ben to come back to Auradon, take a new wife, and find his happiness again, without any curses pressuring him. He left for help, and I dropped to the earth, knowing I was about to die.

"But when I woke up, the strongest feeling I'd ever had overtook me, and I knew I needed to go back to him. It didn't matter that it was impossible for me to leave, because I'd already accomplish far more than one impossible task. Using Eris's sand magic, I managed to make it out of her realm and sealed the border to Tartarus, only to find Ben, who had tried to return for me." Mal took his hand and squeezed it tightly as she used her other hand to fold her paper back up. "I truly know we can do anything together." She told him. "And I? I can do anything with your support." She leaned up, and they shared a kiss in front of the cameras. Ben put a hand around her waist and pulled another paper out of his pocket.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" He started, clearing his throat. "I have an announcement. Something that will change Auradon. Before that, I want to thank you all for adapting so well to the changes I instituted before leaving. There were lots of questions, but all of you followed through with orders and began to develop very unique systems, answering each of your own questions one by one. I expected to come back to a week's worth of work, but my parents gladly informed me that everything had worked out, and there was not a soul unhappy with the changes."

Ben ran a hand through his hair. The dark-light division in his hair was more visible than ever before in the moonlight.

"Five minutes to new year!" Someone shouted in the distance.

"Better hurry." Ben muttered. "Now, before I make the announcement, you must all understand that this has been in the works since before I was king. However, it became increasingly pressing with the war and… what happened with my magical poisoning." Ben fumbled his paper and swallowed. Mal put a hand on his shoulder. "I had accepted the fact I was going to die when Mal decided that I wasn't allowed to leave her behind. I don't remember a lot, but I remember that I felt like there was living fire underneath my skin, and I felt her forehead against mine. We shared memories, guys. I saw everything we'd put her through, and I shared things that had happened to me in my youth and growing up. And when I woke up, I have changed. My skin's a little paler than it used to be. My hair, as many of you have noticed but kindly said nothing to me about, now has two shades that somehow split an inch from my scalp. My eyes are darker, and I now have long scars across my chest from where I was clawed. Black dragon skin formed over the scars from Mal's magic, and none of these things will ever go away. But the most pressing thing is-" Ben held out his hand. His customary sandstorm appeared in his hand and people screamed and gasped in surprise. "I have magic." Ben admitted. "It's not a bad thing, it's not an evil thing. It's just a thing. Mal told me that magic doesn't change who you are at heart. And it doesn't. I'm still the same person. Now, leading from that, it's time for me to announce a very important permanent change to Auradon's laws."

Across the gardens, where the guests couldn't hear Ben speaking, someone began a count down. "Fifteen! Fourteen! Thirteen!"

Others joined in the countdown as Ben rushed to finish up. "We have decided to abolish the laws forbidding Magic that were instituted twenty-five years ago. Auradon is magical once more!"

As reporters erupted into questions and cameras began to flash more hurriedly, the countdown grew in volume. "Five! Four!"

Ben and Mal linked arms and joined in as reporters continued to try and ask questions. Poor Elias looked absolutely done.

"Three! Two! One!" A horn went off, and fireworks filled the sky. Ben took Mal's chin and brought her mouth up to his. As people screamed and cheered and began to wish each other a happy new year, Ben kissed his wife under a full moon. She took his crown off his head and fished around in her curls for her crown before she leaned into his shoulder. They watched the midnight festivities begin, saw Stewart drop to his knees and offer a ring to Sophia, and not for the first time, Mal felt a surge of pride. "We did it." She whispered. "This is like a massive chain-reaction."

Ben put his arms around her and rubbed his thumbs on her stomach. "Let's not let it stop now. We're almost there." He promised.

Mal raised her eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" She asked. "This feels an awful lot like a happily-ever-after to me."

"I thought that villains didn't get happily-ever-afters?" Ben asked.

Mal snorted. "It's a good thing Auradonians get them. Mind if I stick around and filch off of yours?"

Ben smiled. "Without a doubt."

They kissed again. All was well.


	23. HRH Outtakes 3

**This Scene was kept partially in the original, though it was re-written almost entirely from scratch.**

* * *

After following Eris based on her nail for what felt like forever, Ben felt a sharp pull in his navel. Up ahead it was exactly as Sinbad had described, with the sea suddenly falling away as if the world had suddenly ended. Beyond the drop was a doorway that looked like a rip had been torn in the sky. Mal stopped on a small, pitiful-looking island and morphed back to herself with a slight stumble. Ben materialized beside her.

"So, that's it." He breathed.

"Ugh." Mal groaned. "I get not wanting neighbors, but did she have to make it so far?" Ben laughed as she caught her breath. "Can you feel if the place is locked up?" Mal asked.

Ben examined the gates tactfully. "They're not." He decided. "At least, they don't feel like they are."

"Okay." Mal nodded. "Let's go, then."

Ben dissolved and waited for her as she grew her wings out and took to the air. She was unsteady in the air, he noticed. Off-balance.

They flew to the drop off and broke over the edge of the chasm. Ben couldn't see the bottom. Carefully, Ben slipped through and began the descent towards Tartarus. For once, he could feel Mal following him.

They fell through the doors and plummeted towards the ground at a ridiculous speed. As they reached the ground, they naturally slowed, but Ben wasn't worried. He reformed himself on top of the vast golden sands and felt Mal land besides him. She clutched her stomach. "Ugh." She groaned.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked with a frown.

"I just… feel awful all of the sudden. Headache and stomach cramps. Ow." She bent over for a few seconds, then stood back up. "Okay." She sighed. "Where would we find Eris?"

"Me?" A de-personified figure asked. The desert floor shook beneath their feet and rocked back and forth. The sand withered around them to reveal black bricks laid beneath their soles. As the sand blew away further, it revealed a pillaged city built only out of broken beams and black bricks. A figure with greasy, black flowing hair appeared, skirting around the edge of a ruined dwelling.

Eris looked, in a word, horrible. Red sores circled her eyes and something black and smooth had dried on her left cheek. She floated like an amputee would walk – with obvious pain. Mal frowned to see her.

Eris gestured at her city. "You like?" She asked. "I was planning to do the whole world like this, but I don't suppose that'll work now." She sighed. "Have you come to kill me?"

Mal snorted. "Kill a goddess? Surely you respect us enough to know we aren't that stupid."

Eris hummed. "Then, have you come to make me promise to stay in Tartarus? Or to not attack your cities anymore?" She sat down on a pile of black bricks and sighed.

"The promise of a villainess?" Mal snorted.

"Of a goddess." Eris corrected. "Don't you have any gods or goddesses in Auradon? I could have sworn that one of my monsters killed a daughter of a god or something." She buried her face in her hands. "Promises. That's how Sinbad defeated me in the first place." She moaned. "Oh, how the mighty fall."

"I wouldn't trust your word lower than I can curtsey." Mal raised her eyebrow.

Eris hummed. "Interesting." She commented. "Then, pray tell, what is your plan?"

"We're here to seal up Tartarus." Ben blurted out.

Eris looked genuinely surprised. "Really? To be honest, I thought that the whole killing gods thing was a bit more straightforward than that." She disappeared and rematerialized in front of the two. Ben took Mal's hand and held on tight. "Don't you know only someone with sand powers can do that?" She asked.

Ben let a smile pull at the corners of his lips. "You're right." He agreed. "An impossible task."

Eris narrowed her eyes. Ben raised Mal's knuckles to his lips. It pained him, what he had to do, but he trusted her. "Can you cover me?" He whispered.

"Go." She nodded, taking his sword off his hip. She unsheathed her knife and put herself in between Ben and Eris. Eris rose up, became exponentially taller, until it was Mal, the little doll-sized dragon filled with three-hundred cubic pounds of sass and Eris, a goddess who was becoming increasingly alarmed as Ben turned towards the wall and summoned every lick of sand he could around him.

Eris screamed in rage as the sands of Tartarus responded to Ben's will before being tugged back by her. She lashed forward and Mal drove Ben's sword into her finger. Eris screamed as Mal began to chant various spells. Ben couldn't hear anything over the rush of sand in his ears and Eris's unholy screams.

He delved into the sands and began to examine them. There were two parts to his magic. One matched the makeup of the sands of Tartarus, and the other matched the nightmare horses. The first was imbued with chaos magic, and the second with fear magic. Unlike Ericka or Jessie, this magic seemed to be pretty evenly mixed. Perfect.

Ben cast his eyes up to the roof of Tartarus and frowned. Even though he didn't have Mal's magic sight, he could feel instinctively that the roof was a completely different brand of magic. It wasn't as chaotic as the sands, but rather very balanced and structured. Ben wasn't sure he could stitch the roof together using the unorganized chaos magic, but he lifted his hands and began to try anyways.

The floors of Tartarus shifted and shook as Eris shrieked. Ben planted his feet as firmly as he could on the rolling sands and sank every ounce of his concentration into the task at hand. He became completely oblivious to the crusade occurring behind him.

From the moment Mal had woken up, she had known she was off her game. Maybe it was Ericka being maybe immortal or knowing today was the day she took Eris out of the war for good, but she had been unsteady and off-balance since the moment she'd opened her eyes. She braced her grip on Ben's trusty sword and bared her teeth at Eris.

"Go ahead." She goaded. "Make my day." She felt her old Isle habits slipping back, even though they were rusty and not used to the new body she had, which was slimmer, healthier, and not to mention about three months pregnant.

"Fools!" Eris boomed. "How dare you? You have taken my daughter and my partner, leave my home!"

"We will." Mal promised. "Just as soon as we make sure you'll never hurt anyone again."

Eris let out an unholy shriek. She tried to reach over Mal's head for Ben, But Mal jumped up and swung her sword at Eris's wrist. Great drops of black blood spilt to the sands. Eris howled in pain and tried to swat at Mal. Mal jumped back and took another swing at Eris's fingers.

Eris, being about twice the size of one of the apartment complexes Mal had built on the Isle should have naturally held the upper hand, but Mal knew how to pick a fight, and she was fast, if suddenly clumsy. She took swings at the goddesses' legs and, when she reached for Ben again, stabbed the entire sword through the length of Eris's foot. The tip of the blade appeared on the other side of her foot as Eris grabbed her foot and screamed.

Above their heads, the walls began, not to seal together, but to become more circular. It looked less like a rip now, and more like the opening to a fishbowl. Ben's whole body shook as cold sweat poured down his face.

Eris pulled the sword out of her foot slowly, inch by inch. "You simpleton." She hissed through the pain as black blood mixed into the sands at her feet. "I will eliminate you, and your stooge of a husband who dares steal my powers!"

"Let's go then!" Mal called. "Bring it on."

Eris laughed cruelly. "You have no sword." She declared. "You don't expect to fight me with a toothpick, now do you?"

Mal sheathed her sword. "You're right." She agreed. "If you're not going to come down there and face me, I might as well take the battle to your level."

As Eris brought a fist down a top Mal's head, she dodged and spread her arms about her. In a flash, green flames burst at her feet, and Mal began to morph, growing upwards, until she was even taller than Eris. Ben broke his concentration long enough to see what was going on, and then dissolved his feet to carry him up to the sky. The hole in the roof of the chasm was slowly growing smaller.

When Mal finished morphing and let out a huff and the now-small Eris beneath her, the goddess of chaos at least had the decency to look amazed. Mal summoned a torrent of fire from her lungs and breathed scorching green flames down on Eris as Ben worked, high in the sky.

Eris shrieked and hurried to over her bare skin as Mal's breath melted her dress, parts of her hair, and the sand. Hot, molten glass now covered the ground. The city of black rocks was slowly sinking away and disappearing.

Eris looked up at the doors and shrieked in anger. "No!" She howled and launched into the sky. Up, up above their heads was Ben, with both hands on the sky, trying to piece in back together with his bare hands. The hole had gradually shrunk to about the size of three people, all head to head.

Mal launched into the sky and knocked Eris to the ground. Eris screamed as she tried to throw the dragon off of her. Mal blew another torrent of flames into Eris's face as she arched her back and tried to get away. Her cries of agony rang in Mal's ears as Ben continued to work up above.

The battle continued. Mal sent back equal firepower for every blow Eris tried to administer. The goddess tried to launch around Mal, but Mal clamped her jaw down on Eris's hair and threw her, tumbling, back into the sands. Eris summoned waves to her will and tried to bury Mal, but the dragon was simply too tall and strong for Eris to compete with. Blow after blow, parry after parry, the fight continued. Meanwhile, Ben remained up ahead, slowly cinching the doors closer and closer together.

Here's something Mal discovered immediately that she hadn't known before: summoning flames, or using any kind of magic, while in her dragon form was extremely taxing. She felt almost like she had after pouring her magic into Ben, trying to melt the sand in his soul. It wasn't like this was her first rendezvous with fire before; she'd summoned flames briefly when attacking Duloc. However, this was on a much greater scale, with much greater stakes. She had to keep the flames from incinerating Ben, who, despite his newfound magic, was still extremely flammable. Meanwhile, the sands were melting with increasing rates and turning into jagged glass sculptures with horrifying points.

She managed to claw Eris down her cheek, though Mal knew her wounds would never have the same effect as Helena's poisonous touch. Eris was growing more desperate. She called the sands to her will, sacrificing some to battle the fires catching in her hair and on her dress, and hurling more and more toward Mal in the forms of whips and ropes that seared her scales and rubbed off her joints. Despite all this, Mal managed to keep Eris back. She and Eris were both failing in terms of energy at a steady rate, though.

After almost two hours of Mal throwing Eris back as Eris tried with all her might to knock Ben down from the ceiling, the hole had finally shrunk to a size just big enough for someone to slip through. Ben turned around and called her name over the roars and shrieks coming from the two brawling girls. Every muscle in Mal's body was on fire. She was shaking from exertion and swaying in her dragon form. Still, she knew she had to do something to keep Eris subdued long enough for the two of them to escape.

Ben dissolved and appeared on the ever-shifting sands beside her. Mal almost had a heart attack as a mountain of golden sands collapsed on top of him, but he simply rematerialized above the pile. He rubbed his hands together, and held his palms outstretched towards Eris. For a space of a breath, nothing happened. Then thick, midnight blue sands appeared from his hands and raced back to Eris, who shrieked at them both as she tried to hurl sand at the small hole in the sky.

A distinct cold crept down Mal's spine as she glimpsed the blue sands. This was not the normal sands of chaos that Ben would summon. This was fear magic. Pitch's magic.

Eris batted the sand back, but the moment it made contact with her skin, she paused and began to slow in her own movements.

Mal used her two front feet to push Eris back into the sands. She began to shake as more fear sand swirled around her. Mal inhaled and let loose the largest blast of fire she'd created that day. As Eris struggled to get up from the thick black and golden sands, they began to melt and hold her fast in place. As the hot glass touched her skin, Eris screamed. She pulled her hands up – two glowing red molten blobs and howled in agony.

"Let's go!" Ben yelled at her. Mal wasn't sure how she heard him. His voice seemed to be coming from all directions.

Eris arched her head back and wailed. The very walls of Tartarus shook as her voice thrummed in Mal's ears. She shut her eyes and forced herself, on the last dregs of her magic, to return back to herself.

The swirling piles of sand were a lot more threatening once she was small. It was impossible for her to keep her balance as the sand seemed to be pulling her legs down and her ankles apart from each other. The glass, which was still being heated from Mal's fire, was streaming in a fast river for her. Ben yelled her name. Mal concentrated hard for her wings and shot upwards, out of the sand. Ben dissolved and headed towards the ceiling as she followed. The hole was still there, but the longer it was left alone, the more it would pull apart.

Ben reappeared hanging onto the edge of the barrier. "We need to finish it on this side before we head over." He coughed. His throat was as dry as her entire body felt.

Mal nodded and lit her eyes up as she examined the magic of the wall. Ben didn't have much experience, but he had worked slowly, doing his best, and the bindings were strong. Mal quickly set to work, despite the fact she had next to no magic left in her body. She spelled the edges of the hole to pull open when Eris wasn't powerful enough to leave and to pull closed when she was. It was a bit of work, with Eris herself being so far away, but doable. Ben took her arm to support her as she finished. Her last dregs of strength were ebbing away.

"Good job." He whispered when the last spell had been cast. "I knew you could do it."

"Help me up." Mal ordered as her eyes slipped into the back of her head for a few seconds before returning to their normal shades. Her wings faltered and began to beat again.


	24. HRH Outtakes 4

**This scene was cut for not conveying the situation appropriately and for informing Auradon too soon.**

* * *

Mal got back to the castle early, around four. Ben was in a meeting with the other royals when Stewart left them in the driveway with a hug each.

"I'm going to go up to change." Audrey said, picking at the sawdust that covered her Auradon Girl Scouts shirt. They'd helped the construction crew build a new house that day.

"Sounds good." Mal nodded, ruffling her hair and causing a small waterfall of sawdust to waft to the ground outside the palace. Mal sighed and pulled the front door open. "Is it fitting for the queen of Auradon to have sawdust in her hair?" She asked Audrey with a smirk.

"Better than having gutter grudge on your face." Audrey laughed as she slipped inside and began to head up the stairs to the room that she was staying in. Mal laughed as well and pulled out her phone. She stood in the front foyer and texted Sophia: 'Do you know where Ben is?'

Within seconds, she sent back: 'Large meeting room' before sending a purple heart emote. Mal resent it with a laugh.

She headed up to the meeting room. As she approached, the door swung open and Aurora and Phillip appeared, looking incredibly uncomfortable. Ben was yelling inside the room but Mal couldn't make out what was being said as Phillip pulled the door closed behind him. Mal immediately stiffened in surprise. She had barely ever heard Ben yell.

"Oh, you might not want to go in." Aurora said as she caught sight of Mal. "We're having a few problems."

"What of?" Mal asked.

Inside, Ben's voice rose even louder. "Alright! I'll go! But I won't be happy about it!"

Mal's lips pinched together and she rolled her eyes. She approached the door to tell her husband to stop being so melodramatic and was shocked when the handle flew away from her grasp. The door flew open and hit the wall as heroes started to gather their items, most of their faces in varying shades of angry red and pink. Ben stood in the doorway, looking like he was sweating a downpour. He nearly flattened her as he made to storm out of the room.

"You don't have to be happy about it, you just have to get it done!" Adam yelled at his son's retreating back. Mal glimpsed Jack Frost flying above everyone's heads. "Mal has to leave too! It's not your job to always stay here, waiting for her to come back."

"Mal." Ben said, ignoring his father's yells behind him. The room fell silent as they looked at the wide-eyed purple-haired fairy in the doorway. Adam wilted into his seat and pressed his fingers to the bridge between his nose as he sighed.

Mal backed up a few steps to be out of the view of the room. "Going somewhere?" She asked.

"What?" Ben asked in a surprised daze.

There was a silence between them as Ben returned back to homeostasis. "Yes." He sighed. "Up North. War stuff. I'll leave in a few days."

Mal nodded. She wasn't really feeling anything at the moment. She figured she could be sad about him leaving when she wasn't trying to talk to him and when there weren't a hundred other people in the next room. "Need help packing?" She asked.

"That'd be nice." Ben agreed. "Are you okay?"

Mal shrugged. "Well, it's not like I don't live without you for a month every month anyway." Even at those words, she put her arms up around his neck and pressed him close to her. She put her nose in his shoulder crevice and inhaled.

Ben chuckled and hugged her back. "Aw, you'll miss me." He smiled as he began to lightly rub her back.

"Mhm," Mal hummed her nonverbal agreement. "Yeah, don't stay away too long, okay?" She smiled and broke apart from him. No one was moving in the room next to them. "How long will you be?" She sniffled and immediately cursed herself. Nope, nope, no. Bad. She still didn't feel sad, but her body was obviously feeling it. Mal supposed this is what passive sadness must be. It kind of hurt, but in a way her heart wasn't sure what it was actually feeling.

Ben smiled at her. "I don't know, but I'll call you every night if you want."

Mal snorted. "You don't need to do that." She rolled her eyes.

"I will." He promised. His arms were still around his waist.

Mal hummed and brushed imaginary dust off of his shoulders. "Well." She said tactfully. "I was just coming up to tell you…" She hesitated.

"Tell me…" Ben trailed off after a few seconds of waiting for her to speak.

"I'm trying to phrase it!" Mal grumbled.

"Just spit it out!" He probed.

"I can't just spit it out!" She protested. "This is really important!"

"What?" Ben asked.

"Hush." Mal commanded as she fiddled with the lapels on his suit. "You're going to be back by July?" She asked.

"July is months away." Ben deadpanned. "If I'm not back by January, I'll riot – oh crap!" He facepalmed. "Our anniversary. I'll leave before then."

"Doesn't matter." Mal waved him off.

"It does matter." Ben frowned. "I had – _a thing!_ Remember?"

"July?" Mal reminded him.

"Yeah." He sighed with a frown.

"That's good, because I might need a bigger set of hands to help out with my little ones." Mal fumbled over her words. She groaned. "Wait, that sounded more obvious in my head. Let me try again."

Ben squinted at her. "What?" He asked dubiously. "Can't you just tell me?"

"No! I feel pressured to do this in a cute way." Mal snapped back. "I looked at like, two hundred pictures on my way back from the Isle." She groaned. "Okay, try number two. There's going to be a new prince or princess around here." She told Ben.

There was a sudden gasp from inside the room, but Ben was going cross-eyed trying to figure out what she was saying. That meeting must have really fried his brain. Mal pressed her lips together to try to stifle a smile as she waited for him to catch up.

"Is… someone coming to visit?" He asked slowly.

"To stay." Mal corrected. She glanced sideways and saw Adam staring at them with his hair ruffled upwards and a shocked look frozen in his eyes.

"Oh!" Ben exclaimed, drawing her attention back to him. "You're bringing someone else from the Isle over?"

"No." Mal slumped forward. Ben delved back in confusion. "Oh my gosh." Mal looked at the ceiling.

"I don't understand." Ben mourned.

"Okay, okay." Mal sighed. "One more try and then you'll have to ask your mom." Ben gave her a weird look.

"Kay, first you were my sorta-kidnapper," Mal began.

"Ouch." Ben interrupted.

"Hush," Mal demanded with another eye-roll. She began to use her hands to help accentuate what she was saying. "Then you were my fiancé, and then my husband, and now my best friend-slash-significant annoyance. But come July, you'll get the chance to be something that I never had on the Isle because our little family is going to grow."

Ben withdrew his arms to think a little. Mal threw her hands up into the air. "Oh my gosh I married an idiot!" She turned out of his grasp and started to walk away.

Someone in the meeting room finally lost their cool and exploded. "She's pregnant, you idiot!" They yelled. Mal had no idea who it was, but she suddenly had a deep amount of respect for them. Ben's eyes grew wide.

"Oh!" He shouted as he jolted to attention. He suddenly realized she was still walking away. "Wait!" He yelled. "Mal, come back here!" He sprinted towards her, grabbed her hand, yanked her back into his grasp and kissed her. His fingers went straight for her hair. When he withdrew, Mal blinked lazily up at him with an air of 'whatever'. "You're really pregnant?" He asked.

"You're _really_ slow on the uptake." Mal drawled.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked. "Like, emotionally and everything? Can I get you anything?"

"Oh my gosh." Mal rolled her eyes and pushed him out of her path. Someone began to bang their head on a wooden surface in the meeting room. Mal quickly walked back to the doorway and pointed at her father-in-law. "Did you get all that? You're going to be a grandfather." Adam nodded.

"You couldn't have told me like that?" Ben exploded.

"No." Mal insisted stubbornly. "Is Belle in here?" She asked Adam.

"No." He said quietly.

"Dibs on telling your mom." Mal said, turned to walk away. "You get to call my friends and tell them."

"Wait, how is that fair?" Ben asked. "Jay will kill me if you make me tell him. Heck, even Carlos will pound me into the ground. How come you get to tell mom?"

"I called dibs." Mal smiled and walked backwards past Aurora and Phillip. She saluted her dumbfounded husband. "We should play your Auradon news game."

"Thirteen minutes." Ben sighed with an eyeroll. Inside the room, a chorus of voices arose. "Twelve! Nine! Twenty-seven!" People called. Mal raised her eyebrows and disappeared down the hallways of the palace.


	25. HRH Outtakes 5

**This scene was cut in favor of the much heavier fight that was included.**

* * *

Far away at the palace, a girl with short purple hair was trying to accustom her friends to everything she'd come to love in Auradon overnight. The Villain Kids – Evie, Jay, and Carlos, the King and Queen – Mal and Ben, Belle and Adam and Sophia and Stewart. Lumiere was taking the day off.

The couches and tables had been moved out of the way on account of there not being enough space, and everyone sat on the floor with blankets as the smell of flowers drifting in with the evening air. Summer was officially here, and southern Auradon was beginning to warm up.

Mal sat surrounded by her friends as everyone jumped in to tell them stories of things that had happened in the last year.

"Mal told Audrey, Ben's old girlfriend, off when she tried to say Mal wouldn't be around much longer. It was pretty extreme." Adam chuckled as he held Belle's hand.

"Yes, and once Lumiere came into Ben's office in the middle of the night and they'd managed to fill the room entirely with dust, and they were covered head to toe with moth balls and dirt." Sophia laughed.

"I let Ben and Mal out of the palace once or twice, and Ben asked me to walk Mal down the aisle." Stewart added to the conversation. He was holding an icepack to his face as Sophia rubbed his hand softly.

"That's… pretty extreme." Carlos sighed. Out of the three, he was the one starting to relax the most.

"Oh!" Mal exclaimed. "I have to tell you guys about Christmas. Christmas is amazing." She clapped her hands together. "So, Auradon has this weird tradition where they bring a live tree inside and they put decorations on it. Ours had a star of top, and lots of pretty colorful lights, and we had so many ornaments! There were icicles and bows and snowflakes…"

"Snowflakes?" Evie asked primly. She sat with her back completely straight, sending judging looks to the Auradon citizens in the room.

"Snow falls differently in Auradon because of the barrier." Mal explained. "It's like tiny piece of powdered sugar, and it's white."

Evie folded her hands in her lap and said nothing. Jay leaned forward. "I'm glad you're safe." He told Mal. "We've been really worried about you."

Mal smiled and patted his hand. "It's been wonderful. Ben and his family are amazing, and they really took care of me. I owe them a lot." She smiled over at Belle, Adam, and Ben.

Belle waved her hand. "You owe us nothing, sweetheart." She said with a smile. Her fingers were inching towards a book a few feet away, where she'd put it when the conversation had first started. "We love how happy you and Ben are together." She put special emphasis on the word 'together'.

Jay rubbed the back of his neck carefully. "How long until the curse is broken?" He asked.

Mal blinked, surprised at the sudden change. "Oh, it's already broken. It's been broken since the beginning of this month."

Evie perked up. "You're already free?" She asked.

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Yeah."

Carlos looked at both of his friends. While he had been immediately cautious of Ben, it was becoming clear to him that the King had his heart in a good place. Mal was magical and strong-willed. No way she'd not have left yet if he was mistreating her. She was clearly happy – anyone could tell just watching her smile. But it still felt weird to not worry after spending so long examining her on TV, watching to see any measure of fear or exhaustion in her eyes. But she was healthy, happy, and stronger than ever.

"What are your plans now?" Carlos asked.

Mal smiled at Ben. "Well, we have three kingdoms to run between us, I have to repair the Isle of the Lost, and Mercy, May, and Myth will want to return to the Moors soon so that they can begin renovating the moorland for all the creatures there. We need to rescue everyone in on the Isle, but that might have to wait until August because I have to leave next week."

"Leave?" Evie sputtered.

"I go to the moors every month." Mal smiled. "It's not public knowledge because I don't want people to start tracking me and stopping the car or anything, but I leave on the last day and arrive on the first, every month."

"So, you'll be gone for an entire month?" Jay asked.

"Yeah." Mal nodded.

"Okay." Evie sighed. "I guess I'm just not… cluing in." She twiddled her thumbs before stilling herself again. "Are you two… staying together?"

"Yes." Mal said at the same time as Ben. They laughed at each other. Mal leaned back. "You explain, Ben. You're better at feelings than I am."

"Not true." Ben shook his head. "But I'll still do this." He relaxed and faced Mal's friends. "It took a lot of mutual trust trying to work together those first few months. But I gained immediate respect for Mal and her talents and abilities, and I think I speak for both of us when I say we both genuinely wanted to the other to succeed. Marriage should be about always being in someone's court, cheering for them even if you have to correct them. I hope I speak for both of us when I say that I can't, and don't, want to let go. What we have here is really, really nice." He immediately looked at Mal and sighed when he saw her nodding along to his words.

"I agree. Thank you, Ben." She told him. Then, in a small moment of silliness, she blew him an air kiss. He pretended to catch it with a small smirk pulling at his laps.

Belle thumbed down a page. "Out of curiosity…" She said, closing her book and leaning her head against Adam, who elbowed her. "Alright, and my own selfish desires." She rolled her eyes at her husband as he gave her a knowing look. "Are you and Ben planning at all for… down the road… kids?"

Ben choked, but Mal only rolled her eyes at her mother in law. "Selfish desires?" She asked sarcastically. Sophia and Stewart began to laugh, but Jay and Evie looked startled beyond measure.

"We haven't talked about it for a few months. Been busy. I think we last talked in April, and we decided to not try anything because we were so busy. So, at the moment, no." Mal answered while Ben hid his face from a laughing Sophia and Stewart. Then, with a mischievous glance, Mal smirked and quipped: "Maybe Sophia and Stewart will have kids before we do."

Sophia smiled. "Maybe." She agreed before she kicked her legs up across Stewart's lap. He moved his sunglasses from his coat pocket to the top of his head and put an arm around Sophia, who winked at Mal.

Belle looked between the two of them. "Okay, the signals I'm reading are that either Sophia and Stewart are planning to get married soon, or I'm going to have to wait a great many years from grandkids. I just want you all to be aware I fully cast my vote into the first option." Belle opened her book as Mal, Sophia, and Stewart all laughed. Ben was too busy trying to cast the blush from his cheeks to be much help.

The three villain kids exchanged looks. Was this really Mal, who had denounced love when she was only eight? Was this really the child who had tried to cast Evie into a hundred-year slumber and demanded Carlos hold a party at his house, upon which she threw Evie into his mother's closet?

For Jay especially, he felt like the world was slowing down. How could any of this be real? It all felt so… intangible. He felt like, at any moment, someone would yell: sike!

How many months had he worried that she would be okay? How many times had he figured every word coming out of her mouth was a carefully orchestrated ploy of the palace? How many times had he laid awake at night, imagining the evil crown prince taking unfair advantage of his and Mal's impromptu marriage?

All those moments were reduced to a single, clouded experience as he watched Mal smile across the room as Stewart told a joke to the old King and Queen. Ben was shrugging off his blush, smiling over at Mal, looking downright pleased she still chose to notice him, like her very presence blessed him.

Jay wasn't quite sure how to react to this.


	26. HRH Outtakes 6

Mal once again got up before the sun rose and shook Ben awake. He jumped upright and began to blink rapidly to clear his eyes. "Did I sleep in?" He asked in a panic.

"No, no." Mal rolled her eyes. "Calm down, silly. I'm heading outside. The castle's not frozen anymore, so I'm going to climb the palace again. Want to come?"

Ben blinked a little more and rubbed his face. Then he mumbled: "Yeah, thank you." He got up and pulled a pair of tennis shoes out of his pocket before he put a large blanket in a small backpack and went to the open window. Mal quietly whispered a charm, and together they began to use the ridges where the bricks stuck out around the window frame to hoist themselves up and towards the roof. It was a slow climb, but they made it safely.

As Mal wandered around to find a good place of the roof, Ben stood and looked out over the grounds. "See anything?" Mal asked.

"No." He answered. "Hey, you said you were going to show me your magic thing when you came back, and you never did. Can I see it now?"

"Oh." Mal felt a little nervous. She rubbed her cold hands together and said: "Yeah, I guess." She took a deep breath. "Don't freak out."

Ben chuckled. "I've done that so often."

Mal shrugged. "Yeah. I guess… I'm just a little nervous how you'll react." She helped Ben spread out the blanket, and together they sat down on top of it.

Mal exhaled. "Kay, so you already knew I could do this-" She turned to Ben, and he watched as two large, somewhat curved horns grew out of her skull. True, Ben had seen them before, but they still seemed wicked cool. The black seemed to make her eyes look even more striking than they were. Ben smiled and reached out to wrap a hand around them again. Mal bent her head a little as he examined them with a soft, awed smile.

"Wow." He told her.

Mal chuckled.

"You don't even have to focus anymore." He said.

Mal shrugged. "Yeah. I actually tend to wear them normally when I'm in the moors. But, the fae also taught me how to do… something else." She took Ben's hand from where it was wrapped around her left horn and instead placed it in between her shoulder blades. "Don't freak out." She cautioned.

Ben had a feeling he knew what was coming.

Mal's shirt was flannel and covered her entire back. But as Ben let his hand rest just inches under her neck, he noticed that the shirt started to recoil until two holes had formed. Two lumps formed on Mal's back, which quickly expanded. Ben withdrew his hands and leaned back as he watched two large, beautiful wings begin to grow and stretch into existence.

"Wow." Was all he could say. Mal chuckled nervously and moved her wings out so he could see the full girth and volume of them.

They were almost twice as long as her normal arm-span on either side, and soft and feathery, like her mom's had been. They were also a royal shade of purple, just a little darker than her hair, which Mal had moved in front of her shoulder before she'd let them grow out. They were longer than they were wider and extended from just below Mal's shoulder blades.

"That's wicked cool." Ben said softly.

Mal laughed. "Wicked, you say?" She asked, turning to face Ben. She withdrew her wings so that they wouldn't hit him as she moved, and Ben was amazed to see how the wings curled up behind her arms so naturally, almost as if they were meant to go there.

"That's amazing." Ben sighed. He stroked the length of one of her wings and was pleased when Mal shivered. "You can feel that?"

"Yeah. My horns have no feeling, but my wings are sensitive. I'm told the more I use them, the less sensitive they'll be." Mal smirked at his awed expression.

"Can you fly?" Ben asked.

Mal stood up and extended her wings before she gave them two incredibly powerful flaps that lifted her a few feet off the ground.

"I once flew along the river for a few hundred feet." Mal said as she came back down and sat beside Ben. "I can't do big distances yet."

"And that'll help you get away from the palace more?" Ben asked.

Mal shrugged. "I need more practice, and I need to know Auradon won't freak out." She took another breath and Ben watched as both her wings and her horns disappeared. The rips in the back of her shirt mended themselves automatically, and suddenly Mal was back to normal.

"That's so hot." Ben found himself saying before he could stop the words. Both his and Mal's cheeks went pink at the proclamation, but he did nothing to correct himself or refract his statement.

After several moments, Mal scoffed. "You really do have an Isle kink." She chuckled as she pulled the blanket up around the two of them and put her head down on his shoulder.

"Do not." He laughed.

"You totally do!" Mal protested.

He found her cold hand under the blanket and clutched it tight. "Nope. I'm just totally in love with you."

Mal hummed softly. "I-I think I might… too."

Ben turned to look at her. Her green eyes were lit a little in the darkness. "Really?" He asked.

"I think so, just please… let me have a little more time to be sure." She bit her lip and looked down in the general direction of his collarbone.

"If you're never sure enough to say it, just know you'll always be able to hear it from me." He pulled her hand from the blankets and pressed a kiss to her marriage band. Then, he pulled her into his grasp and kept an arm around her, so he could make sure she was warm.

The sun began to creep into the sky and turn beautiful colors. Mal sighed dreamily and curled into his side. Ben bit his cheek as he thought about something he'd wanted to ask for a while.

"Where do you think we are?" He asked finally, as the first slivers of the sun were coming up in the distance.

"Auradon?" Mal asked.

"No, I mean, us. Where do you think we are as a couple?"

Mal turned to meet Ben's eyes. She looked surprised by the sudden question. "Um, I have no clue. I trust you. I've never trusted anyone like I've trusted you. No one's ever treated me like you have, and encouraged something in me, or believed in me, even."

"When we first got married," Ben started. "I felt like we were more best friends than lovers. But I feel like we're more than that now. What do you think?"

Mal squeezed his hand and brought it close to her chest for a second. "You're a lot more than a best friend. Sophia's my best friend, but you're also a confident, a partner." She appeared to be thinking very hard about it. "I hesitate to say lovers, but…" She twisted her face. "It feels like we're dating, but not rigorously. Like, you know how people date before they're thinking of marriage but after they're past the awkward phase? I feel like we're right at the end of the stage."

She sat up straight. "Why, what would you think we are?"

Ben swallowed. He was clearly a little more passionate about this whole thing than she was, but he decided to be honest nonetheless. "I feel… like we're right on the cusp of being lovers."

They stared at each other for several seconds, and Mal relaxed back into his grip with a thoughtful nod. "I can see that." She said. "Anything else on your mind?"

"Actually, yeah." Ben admitted. "When we first married, we agreed on being chaste with each other. Are you still interested in continuing that?"

"Yes." Mal said immediately. She felt stiff in his arms. Ben released his tender grip. "Sorry." She softened her tone. "I – I need time, still. I need to at least be sure that I'm in love first. And, like you said, we're both still really young. I'm not even legal in Auradon yet." Mal swallowed. "Please, not yet."

Ben couldn't deny he felt a little disappointed, but his parents had taught him better than to argue on this subject with anyone. "Of course." He said. "I would never rush you."

Mal looked at him kindly for those words. Then leaned up and pecked his cheeks. "You're important to me." She said. Those words were her way of saying 'I love you'. "Thanks for everything."

He couldn't stop a smile. "Of course." He agreed.


	27. Mommy Grew Up Different pt1

**This is a long story. If you would like to read it in a more broken-up format, you can find in on ArchiveofourOwn under the name 'Mommy Grew Up Different' by WanderlustandFreedom.**

* * *

**Ben never really had any reservations about making Mal his wife, and when the time came for them to have children, he didn't have any worries about that either. The moment little Prince Zach had been put in Mal's arms, she'd transformed into the best mother Ben had ever seen.**

**Mal was determined to give her kids the best childhood she could. She wasn't perfect - there were a few bumps along the way - but there was no one Ben would have ever trusted more to be his partner in crime and his kids' mom.**

* * *

_Mommy Grew Up Different_

"Alright Zach, what's three times two?" Ben asks his three-year-old son, kneeling down beside his bed and smiling as the child counts on his pudgy toddler fingers.

"Six," Zach replies and looks at Ben expectantly. Ben's smile stretches even wider.

"That's right!" He applauds, holding a hand up for a high-five. "What's six times three?"

That was a harder one, but they'd gradually been moving into bigger numbers the last few weeks. Zach furrows his brow. He counts on his fingers, folds his arms across his chest, and then analyzes his covers in deep thought. Ben hears a noise from the hallway and briefly looks over to see Mal leaning against the doorway, furrowing her brow the same Zach is as she listens. She must have already finished putting their other son, Tyler, to bed. That means he's running behind.

"Eighteen," Zach replies, brightening up as he remembers the answer.

Ben laughs. "That's right!" He exclaims and then pushes up off the floor to sit beside the small child on the bed. Zach scoots over against the wall and pats his blue striped sheets, indicating Ben can move forward. Ben chuckles and reaches across the bed to pick up the book his son had picked out. "Alright, champ, are we reading about Rapunzel and Eugene tonight, or are we - what's this?" Ben raises an eyebrow as Zach reaches out for the thick book in excitement.

"It's my word book," Zach explains, snuggling into his pillow and opening it up. "Aunt Jane said all the kids in the high schools get one, and she gave me this one to keep. See? My name is on it." He holds the book close to his nose, flips through the pages, and takes a deep inhale. "It smells like a good book," he mumbles as he curls into Ben's side. "She said it'd help me learn new words."

"It's called a dictionary," Ben raises an eyebrow, fighting a little smile as he looks up to see Mal still looking at them confusedly in the doorway. "Dad used to read through this when he was younger too. Not as young as you, though. You can look through it to find words you don't know or go through and see which ones you do know."

Zach nods, opens to the first page, and skims down the entries. He skips over the letter 'A's and goes straight for the first long word he sees. "Aardvark," he announces, nuzzling his sandy blonde hair into Ben's side as Ben leans back against the headboard and starts combing his fingers through Zach's hair. "An animal with a long snout and a long sticky tongue that feeds mostly on termites and is active at night." He looks up at Ben with his finger on that last description. "That means they're nocturnal like cats, right?"

Ben chuckles. He can't believe how much his son knows. He's well aware it isn't normal for a kid to be this knowledgeable, but he isn't going to we complain too much. It's nice to have someone to talk to like this. "That's right," He agrees. "Like cats and snakes and lizards and things."

"It must live in a hot climate," Zach reasons. "And it moves at night when it's not so hot."

Ben hears Mal shift in the doorway and he glances up to see she's dropped her hands in something like surprise. He smiles up at her, and though he can't see her expression, he figures it must be something like pride. She hasn't been able to come in to help him put Zach to sleep the last few months as Tyler tends to turn his furniture into animals when he's anxious for bedtime and she usually has to round up and return a herd or two to its original form. Zach, however, doesn't have magic and prefers reading aloud to his parents as part of his bedtime routine, so that's pretty easy for Ben to cover as Mal tried to calm Tyler down. However, he was exhausted tonight, so Mal gets to listen in on what he and Tyler usually work on in the evenings.

"Abacus," Zach reads. "An instrument for doing arithmetic by sliding counters along rods or in grooves."

Ben puts his finger down on the word 'arithmetic'. "What's that mean, champ?" He asks.

"Math," Zach shrugs. "It's like what we've been working on. Multiplications. Like two times two and six times six."

"Which is?" Ben prompts, and Zach puts the book down to tap his index fingers together.

"Four and thirty-six," Zach announces. "Which together are forty."

"Good job," Ben smiles over at Mal. She is standing very still in the doorway, and he can't tell if she's breathing or not. Zach keeps reading, mumbling by his side, and Mal slowly creeps into the room to hover by the foot of the bed. Zach finishes reading about 'abolitionist' and then reaches for a pencil on his headboard to circle the word, indicating he's interested in learning more about it. Ben isn't surprised - it's the same kind of concept he lives for. He leans forward to take Mal's hand and it's then that he realizes her face is drawn and taut and she's staring down at the book in Zach's lap like it's an evil thing she doesn't want around her son. Ben frowns. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Zach looks up immediately and sets the pencil and book aside. "Mommy..." He whines, leaning on his knees with his arms outstretched. "Are you feeling sad?"

"No, baby," Mal smiles a little tight, scared smile. He knows the look, but he hasn't seen it for a while. Not since Zach was born. There's the occasional exception - when their toddlers go near stairs or when they first started standing or when Ben tosses them into the air, but for the most part, he doesn't see the 'I don't like this at all' face. She takes Zach into her arms and hugs him tightly, and Ben tilts his head at her while Zach's head is turned away. She ignores him, which raises Ben's concern even more.

Ben puts a hand on Zach's back. "Bud, it's time for bed," he announces. "I'll read more of your new dictionary with you tomorrow, but Mom and Dad had a long day today. You can stay up a little longer and read, or you can go to bed now."

"I'll go to bed," Zach yawns. He climbs back into his covers and then pushes the dictionary away. "You can answer my questions later." Ben snorts, pulls the covers up around the little three-year-old, and then kisses his hair as Zach closes his eyes. He and Mal walk to the door, glancing back every so often as parents are wont to do. Ben lets her into the hall before him, shuts the door softly, and then turns with an open mouth to reask Mal what happened. He doesn't get a syllable out before she's practically exploded into rushed whispers.

"You're doing multiplication with him?" She demands, clutching her hair. "And he's reading a dictionary? He's four! He's not even four - he'll be four in three months! How long has this been going on?"

Ben blinks. "Is it a problem?" He asks. "You already knew he liked reading."

"Well, I mean, I'm glad that he's smart and everything, but..." Mal chews on her lip with wide eyes darting back and forth without landing on him. "Don't you think he's too young?"

"He's gifted," Ben shrugs. "I have no idea where he gets it from, but he catches on so quickly. We've been doing multiplication together now for almost two weeks. I'm trying to get him to learn his fours and sixes."

"I thought you were doing additions?" Mal questions, biting her lip and turning from one side to the other as if she can't decide which direction she wants to go. "I thought you were going to be starting subtractions once he got the hang of it."

"We did," Ben shrugged. "He caught on really fast. He can do two-digit addition and subtractions in his head and everything else on paper. So I moved to multiplication." He catches her hand as she spins around in a frantic circle. "Hey - what's the issue here? He's smart, so what?"

Mal rips her hand free only to wave it in front of her like she burned it and she's trying to shake off the pain. "I don't know that stuff, Ben!" She snaps in a whisper. "What's a noc- a n- an animal at night! and multiplication is like... second grade here, right?"

"Third," Ben corrects quietly.

"That's not better!" Mal snaps. "Why is he growing up so fast? Why is he learning so much? I mean, I'm happy - I am! He's such a brilliant, perfect boy, but he's going to grow up thinking I'm a dunce because I can't answer any of those questions!"

"You can't answer what six times six is?" Ben drawls slowly, though he understands her panic now. Auradon schooling system is intimidating enough to Mal, whose Dragon Hall classes barely taught them to read and write. If not for Yen Sid, the vast majority of Island Children would have had to retake elementary courses in High school, and some of them still can't read or write.

"Of course I can!" Mal snaps. "But... but... he's going this fast and he's just going to keep going! I just had my baby Ben - I don't want him to be big yet!"

"You're not going to lose him," Ben tells her, taking her hands and squeezing them tightly. "Mal, he adores you. Did you see how sad he got when he thought you were sad in there? You're his whole world. He and Tyler both think you're the literal sun." He drags her into his arms and lets her claw around at his collarbone for a hold before wrapping her hands around his back and letting out a little breath.

She's a good mom. She lifts Zach up to pick books off of higher shelves and retrieves toys that Tyler likes to hurl across the room and she lets all three of them - Ben included - curl into her when they watch movies together and she's the stabilizing rock that holds his little family together. But he gets how this scares her. After all, Zach won't be little forever, and his questions are only going to get more complex and hard to answer.

* * *

Tyler gets a little older to where he's now three and Zach is four and Tyler is no longer attempting to create a zoo in his bedroom before bedtime. Ben and Mal start rotating again, and Mal learns very quickly that Zach's bedtime routine is now very far out of her depth. A stack of various encyclopedias - some children's and some not - sit beside his bed with his dog-eared and marked-up dictionary in a prized position on his headboard. She manages to help her baby get through brushing teeth and pajamas without fumbling too much, but then Zach is curling up into his pillow and pulling the blue comforter he got at Christmastime around his shoulders as Mal skins the spines of the encyclopedias for something she recognizes. "The Plant World", one reads. "How Government Works - for children", says another. "You can speak French!" a third announces.

"Can we read my dictionary?" Zach asks after patiently waiting about thirty seconds as Mal examines each of the unfamiliar titles beside his bed. Mal nods with a swallow and Zach retrieves his blue and white dictionary and opens it up in the middle. She takes a deep breath to calm herself and then panics again when the first word Zach reads is unfamiliar.

"Minuend," He mumbles as he lays his head down on her shirt and leans the book open on her legs. "A number from which another number is to be subtracted."

Mal's skin crawls. Now that she's thinking about it, the word sounds vaguely familiar in the back of her head. Maybe it was included in a lesson years ago or something. But the fact she didn't know it is the problem. If he asks any questions, what will she say?

Luckily, most of the words are pretty straightforward and there isn't a lot that she misses. There are mislead and mission and mistake, all of which are pretty okay, and then the occasional word like mirth or a mite.

"Mite - o - chon - drian," Zach sounds out and then pauses to yawn. "One of the parts found in the cytoplasm of a cell outside the nucleus that provides the cell with energy released from the breakdown of nutrients."

"Baby, do you know what that means?" Mal blurts out. Her head is spinning. It's somehow easier to remember what the various terms mean from her high school classes when Zach is sounding out the big words so carefully, but she still only has a vague recollection of what it means.

Zach nods. "We're made up of cells," he explains, running a hand up his arm. "And cells have DNA that tells them how we need to be built. And this is part of a cell that makes energy." He curls up closer to her arm. "Dad told me about it a while ago."

Of course Dad told him. Dad is smart and was taught these things as a child. Mom was not.

"Mitosis," Zach begins, yawns widely, and then looks at the page through half-lidded eyes to finish. "Process of cell division by which two new nuclei are formed, each containing the original number of chromosomes." He finally sets the book down, rubs his eyes, and then rolls over onto his pillow. Mal reaches over to tuck him in. "Mom?" He calls, eyes closed as he mumbles against his pillow. "How does a cell get the same number of DNA when it becomes two new ones?"

Mal's mind blanks out and she stammers a little as she slides off his bed onto her knees. "I, uh, I think they double, baby. They double up and then divide."

Zach squeezes his pillow, opens his eyes, and looks up. "But... they're already doubled?" He ponders aloud. "They're in a twisty spiral."

That Mal remembers. Her teacher had a giant stretchable model that Evie and Doug once rented out and examined in their dorm room. "Maybe they double the twisted DNA?" She suggests, relaxing a little as she runs a hand up and down Zach's back.

Zach shrugs and buries his face into his pillow. "I'll ask dad tomorrow," He yawns. "Goodnight mom."

Mal sits down hard on her tailbone with every bone in her body vibrating. Her son's words go through her like a bullet. 'I'll ask Dad'. She slowly forces herself to get up and walk to the door. She pulls it shut before she collapses beside the frame and presses her fingertips to her head.

Why is he asking questions like this already? Why doesn't she know the answers? Has he already caught on to the fact she's not nearly as smart as he and Ben are? How much longer does she have before he realizes she's a complete idiot who has no chance of ever learning half of the things he practically downloads into his brain?

Ben finds her there, on the floor outside her son's room mumbling 'questions' and 'cells' underneath her breath. And at three a.m the following morning, when he's awakened by the light of her phone as she reads a seventh-grade lesson on cells and biology, he doesn't say a word.

* * *

"You know, just because you don't know about lightning and thunder doesn't mean you're not smart," Ben sighs from the doorway as Mal clicks through the twenty tabs she has open on her computer. "You just know other things. Who cares if Zach knows what the plant is called - you know whether or not it's edible."

"Great," Mal snaps irritably. "You and he can talk about electricity and... reactions in the atmosphere and I'll tell him where best to stab a man so he dies." She snaps the lid of her laptop shut with her eyes closed and lets out a ragged, ashamed breath. "I can't tell him things like that," she moans. "He already knows you're smarter than I am and I'm scarier than you. If I tell him things like that, he'll think I'm a monster."

"He's not going to think you're a monster," Ben sighs, pinching his fingertips to the bridge of his nose. He already knows he doesn't have much chance of convincing her, though. They've been having this discussion for almost two years now.

"Why is he growing up?" Mal groans, burying her face in her hands. "I can't deal with him getting bigger and all these things... Tyler still can't read by himself and he's almost four now!"

"Zach's a special case," Ben sighs. He's not sure how to console her - is there any consolation for a mom who feels like her baby is growing up too fast? And all she says is true - Zach amazes everyone who meets him. He's somewhere in between a third and a fifth-grade level as far as his knowledge goes, but his rationing is beyond even some adults Ben knows in the courts. Most of what he knows is from reading or Ben and Mal talking with him. They called in a tutor a while ago, and Zach was nice enough to her, but he simply learned too fast for her to be able to develop lessons for him. The local school kind of shook their heads and said that it would be a waste of his potential to have him sit in with even the sixth graders, who need things to be taught more than once whereas he remembers everything, and the only premiere school for kids his age is five hours away, so the only schooling he's done has been online and at-home activities. Now that Tyler is almost to kindergarten age and he's being grouped in with the rest of his age group, he and Mal are starting to understand exactly where a child of Zach's age should be. And it's not sitting upside down in the armchair in the library reading Einstein's theory of special relativity for fun. (He couldn't understand it, but he keeps track of words and phrases and that's how he figures things out)

"Is this good for him?" Mal sighs, tugging on her hair a little. "He's not around any other kids except for his brother and his cousins. and he's moving so fast... what happens when he levels out?"

Ben shrugs. It's going to be a long time before Zach levels out. And he's not too concerned with Zach's friends. Sure, the crown prince doesn't get out much, but he's kind and amicable and gets along well with everyone. He's not a very temperamental child, even when pestered by Zach or Jay's kids.

"We need something he can focus on learning that he won't master the moment it's out of someone's mouth," Mal sighs. "Preferably something with other children." She glances over at Ben with a soft, pleading sigh. "For my sanity and his sake."

"I don't think there's a problem," Ben sighs, sitting down beside her. "But it might be good for him to know what it's like to not learn something right off the bat."

"I was thinking of putting Tyler in dance," Mal sighs. "The other moms at the school have some of his friends in a class together. It's like a tumbling, gymnastics program. After school... let out some of his energy."

"Well, it's not like he can go battle pirates for fun like you used to," Ben snorts, nudging her side even as Mal frowns. "That sounds good. Are you going to put Zach in one?"

"Well, then I'd have to drive out there and back and then there again to drop him off and pick him up. Tyler can walk with his friends. One of the moms works in the building," Mal sighs, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "It would be better to have something I can take him to when I drop Tyler off at school."

Ben puts his hands on her shoulders and rubs his fingertips into her shoulders. "Maybe... music?" He suggests, and then a new plane of understanding opens to his eyes. "Actually... that's a great idea. Learning an instrument helps make connections in kid's brains. He'll have to practice to get good at it and train the muscles in his fingers to-"

"Oh my gosh, you're just like him!" Mal groans. "Why did I marry someone smart? This was a horrible idea!"

Ben laughs. He can't help it. He kisses her cheek and mumbles an apology against her skin. "I'll talk to him and ask what sounds cool," He tells her. "And then I'll get back to you, okay?"

* * *

Thus, Zach begins taking guitar at age five. They pick a studio two buildings away from the public library, so for an hour and fifteen minutes Zach does guitar, then he goes to the library for weekly crafts lessons that other homeschooled kids participate in, and then waits the last hour or so before Mal or Ben picks Tyler up from school. He doesn't mind the wait since he gets to read, but he does mind the lessons themselves. Guitar, it turns out, is hard for him. He gets annoyed, but never angry. Sometimes he asks Mal if he can not go, but he doesn't argue when she disagrees. Once he kicks the empty guitar case, but their oldest child isn't very explosive or hot-headed. Ben's proud of him. After all, it isn't easy to struggle with something, and after learning everything else so easily, it's hard to have to practice something as simple as plucking strings in the right order.

For the first time, he progresses at the same rate as the other kids taking it with him, and Ben sees all of Mal's nerves relax one by one. It's still hard for her to see him move so fast in other subjects, but so long as she can listen to him complain about disliking guitar and how much the strings hurt his fingers, she's convinced that he'll still come to her for advice and comfort and she can keep trying to be a good mom.

For several months, Ben listens to his eldest mutter in the family room as he plucks and presses and then strums on his instrument. Sometimes he has to close his eyes when an out-of-tone note vibrates in his ear or when he hears Zach growl in the little way that reminds Ben a.) his son is struggling and b.) the Beast curse definitely still lives on in their family. Then, one day, he walks through the room and listens to Zach play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' without any pauses and on all the right keys. And then Zach sets down the guitar with a proud smile and looks up for approval. And at the moment, man, wow. He's been proud of Mal before, but never like this.

* * *

The idea that the kids would one day have questions about Mal's childhood had occurred to him, but he'd always brushed it aside because they hadn't started asking questions yet. He assumes Mal has been thinking the same way. "It's not a problem yet, so let's not talk about it." But the inevitable fault in that plan is that they're both completely thrown off when they finally do ask.

"Dad," Zach asks in the car from the backseat as he balances a book strategically so Tyler can't romp his action figure over it. "The evil fairy in Sleeping Beauty is Grandma, right?"

Mal chokes on her coffee and Ben whips his head around before she seizes the wheel to ensure they don't veer into a new lane. The car next to them honks unpleasantly as their morning commute is interrupted.

Tyler falls out of his seat and onto the floor, where he whines a little before getting back up and sitting down. He sulks in disappointment - he told them he was buckled up and now his cover has been blown. Ben pulls to the side of the road and since he's the better composed of the two adults, he turns around to buckle Tyler up with a firm expression and put a hand on Zach's leg. Zach's face is white.

"Sorry guys," Ben breathes, still holding a hand on Zach's leg. "We, uh, weren't expecting you to ask about Grandma." He exhales and turns to Mal, who is as white-faced as Zach is as she stares stone-faced out the windshield. "Yes, Grandma was the Evil Fairy. Kinda like how Grandpa Adam was the Beast a long time ago."

"So she's dead?" Zach asks quietly. Mal recoils next to Ben like someone threatened to hit her. Ben's a bit wary too. Zach is seven, so it's not exactly strange that he knows the Beauty and the Beast stories and Sleeping Beauty. It's not strange either that he's asking about death and can understand that concept. Poor Mal looks like she'll be sick though. How many deaths had she witnessed(or participated in) by the time she was his age?

"No," Ben replies simply. He hopes Zach won't ask any more questions. He's not sure Mal can handle him explaining how she's alive and on the Isle in human form with her powers bound and how Mal hasn't gone to see her since before she got pregnant. He doesn't even want to explain why his dad thought it would be a good idea to bring back all the villains who had died to punish them further. It's easier to let Zach believe she never died in the first place, like it's easier to let him believe in Santa Claus rather than risk him explaining it to one of his friends.

"Is it a bad thing to talk about?" Zach asks, biting his lip the way Mal does when she's nervous. Ben hides a small, anxious laugh.

"No," he assures his son. "No, you can ask about Grandma. We just weren't expecting you to and you surprised us." He pats Zach's leg to reassure him and then turns with a shaky breath to Mal to see if she has anything to add or clarify. Slowly, she turns back to try and face Zach.

"Mommy doesn't really talk to Grandma anymore," She whispers. "Grandma wasn't a very good mom to me. That's why she doesn't come and see us like Grandma Belle and your Grandpas do."

"You have a mom?" Zach shouts, kicking his legs out and falling back into his chair like he's gone boneless from the shock.

Mal cracks a smile as Zach shifts a few inches away from his loud little brother and rolls his eyes. "Yes, Beastie. Daddy has a mom, why wouldn't Mommy?"

"Because Mommy's tough," Tyler yells, taking his dragon action figure and flying it in circles in front of him. "And Daddy's a big softie!"

Mal bursts into laughter as Ben glares a little from his seat. Zach tilts his book into a shield as Tyler's dragon soars into his airspace and whispers: "I think Dad's tough too." Ben looks up through the rearview mirror to check for cars coming up behind them and also to glance at Zach as he leans against the window with his book mostly hiding his face. The title, which he can read even in the mirror, is 'Auradon History - Updated version with King Benjamin and Queen Maleficent.' He exhales slowly.

They make it to the school without another almost-crash and Mal unbuckles her seat belt to climb out and come around to help Tyler jump out. Zach lowers his book to glance out the window in interest at the other children who are bustling around the elementary school, but then ultimately returns to his stories. When Mal opens the door, Tyler pounces out and jumps into her chest in a way that makes her laugh but almost knocks her over. She squeezes him tightly and kisses his head before he's trying to struggle to the ground. She juggles him down as she also tries to reach in to grab his backpack, and when she turns around, he's already dashed away to his friends. Mal sighs and shuts the door as Ben chuckles softly. As soon as she's gone, Ben turns around to Zach.

"Hey, bud?" He calls, and Zach looks up from his book. Ben nods to it. "Who are you reading about?"

"Grandma and Grandpa," Zach replies, glancing back down to his place. "This is talking about them getting married."

"Okay," Ben nods and then glances out to make sure Mal isn't returning yet. She's not. She and Tyler are easily recognizable from twenty feet away, where the two purplettes exchange a hug before the bell rings inside and Mal waves goodbye to him. Other parents and teachers stand around, glancing cautiously at the queen as her vibrant-haired son romps inside with his friends. "Listen, bud, if you have any questions about Grandma Maleficent or Grandpa Hades, it might be better to ask Dad first alone and I can answer it or tell you if Mom would be better to answer it."

Zach looks a little caught-in-the-headlights as he stares at Ben sheepishly. Ben smiles to comfort him as he sees Mal start to make her way back to the car. "You're okay to ask questions. We're not going to hide things from you. But it can be a bit hard for mom to remember, okay?"

"Okay," Zach nods.

Mal opens the door and gets in with a little exhale. She buckles her seatbelt and then smiles at the two of them, completely unaware. Zach looks back down at his book as Ben leans over and squeezes her hand. "Ready for guitar?" Mal asks Zach.

"Yeah," Zach responds carelessly, then looks over the top of his book at her. "Mom?" He calls, and Ben glances in the rearview mirror at him automatically to make sure that he's not about to ask another Maleficent question. Mal turns to show Zach that she heard and the book goes down a little more to reveal more of Zach's face, which Ben thinks looks more like Mal's and less like his every day. "I love you," he tells her.

A smile blooms across Mal's face. It's the same sort of thing that she used to do when he'd make her blush as teens. "I love you too, baby," she whispers.

Zach furrows his brow. "How come I get to be called baby and Tyler gets to be called Beastie?" He asks.

Mal laughs. "Well, when I first learned I was going to have a baby, I didn't know if you'd be a boy or a girl or what your name would be, so I just called you 'Baby'. And then you became Baby when you were born. But then Tyler came along and I had to come up with another nickname for him. I couldn't give him yours."

"I think you should come up with a new one, mom," Zach recommends. "I could be dragon. Or something else that's cool."

"Hmm," Mal makes a face as if she's considering it, but Ben knows she'll never change his nickname. Zach changed her life and he's always going to stay small enough to fit in her hands in her head. Even when he's fifty, he's always going to be her baby. "We'll see."

She turns to watch the road with him and he tangles their fingers together around the shift of the car as he drives. The radio plays softly and he can hear Zach turning pages, about one every twenty-eight seconds, in the back. Mal finally closes her eyes and leans her head back into the seat in this way that makes her seem young and careless and makes his heart start thudding in his chest. They're just turning into Zach's Guitar studio when they hear him unbuckle and lean up into the front with his index finger on a term he has a question on. "Mom, dad?" He calls.

"Hmm?" Mal asks, turning her head to listen to him.

"What's the Isle of the Lost?"

There's a beat of silence where Mal opens her eyes and stares at the page, uncomprehending. Ben barely has time to park the car before she's withdrawing into herself, clapping a hand over her mouth and leaning back into the seat with tears filling her eyes. Ben unclicks his seat belt, leans across Zach, and pulls her head against his chest before she can start crying. Ben gives Zach a shaky smile as Mal starts to gasp and shake into his shoulder. "I'll tell you later, bud. Have a nice time at guitar."

* * *

Later that same night, Ben and Mal go to sit on Zach's bed. He glances between them with a little fear in his eyes as they sit on either side of him. They already decided how this conversation should go, and exactly how they should filter things for their seven-year-old.

"You've been asking some very grown-up questions lately," Mal begins, leaning into the wall and inviting Zach to lean against her side. Ben stretches out, leaning on his elbows and running a comforting hand up and down Zach's spine. "Dad and I had to think about how we should answer you. I'm sorry I scared you today."

Zach doesn't respond. He just wraps his tiny arms around her midsection and cuddles into her further. Ben shifts his weight a little more towards the small child. "It's good to ask questions," He whispers. "We want you to feel like you can talk to us. We might not have the answers right away and sometimes things are harder for us to talk about, but we'll always try and help explain things."

Mal pulls Zach onto her lap and starts combing her fingertips through his hair, which matches Ben's straight down to the texture and style. She kisses his forehead and lets him hug her a little longer before she asks: "Why were you reading about Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Because," Zach starts in a little whisper. "I'm gonna be king one day and kings have to know a lot about where they live."

Mal pouts. "Baby, you're not gonna be king for a long, long time," she frowns. "Don't throw your childhood away. You can worry about the crown later."

"But that was very thoughtful of you," Ben butts in, raising an eyebrow at Mal. "You know that you could have asked us, right? We would have told you."

"But I like books," Zach reminds him, and Ben snorts.

"Okay, champ. Well, what questions do you have about your book?"

Zach leans towards his headboard, where sits the Auradon history book. He cracks it open and points to scribbles in the margins of the book. "Why was Grandma Maleficent in charge of the evil guys?" he asks.

Mal's lower lip wobbles. "Because she was the evilest of them all," She replies. "And she had magic, so she was very powerful."

"I think Judge Frollo was eviler," Zach mutters as he writes the answer in underneath the question. "He burned people inside houses."

Ben silently disagrees. The longer he's married to Mal, the more deserving he thinks her mother is of the title 'Mistress of all Evil'.

"Why were Grandma and Grandpa in charge of the good guys?" Zach asks, turning the page to show a photo of a mural of Belle in her yellow dress, dancing with the Beast.

"Because Grandma was very smart and knew how to get people to listen to her," Ben explains. "She wasn't as smart as you, though."

Zach mostly ignores the compliment as he flips a few pages forward to show them a map. "What's the Isle of the Lost?" He repeats, pointing to the dark scatters of shadowy cliffs and rocky beaches that make up the jagged place Mal used to call home.

Mal lets out a long, slow breath, and Ben realizes that she needs to do a lot more of this conversation than he originally anticipated. "The Isle of the Lost is where Grandpa lives. You've been there, remember? There's a big, long, white bridge? Dad and I put it up." She puts her finger down on the label on Zach's map. "But before Dad and Mom knew each other and before Grandpa Hades was allowed to come over here, it was a big jail for bad people. And I was born there, so I was trapped in with all the bad people."

"With Grandma?" Zach asks.

Mal nods. "Yes, I had to live with my mom just like you have to live with me. But my mom wasn't very nice to me."

"Were you abused?" Zach asks, innocently enough.

Ben's mouth drops open. "Where'd you learn about that?" He asks.

Zach points to his favorite book - his dictionary - and recites "Abuse; harmful treatment of a person or an animal."

Mal draws Zach's attention back to her using two fingers under his chin. "That's a hard question for Mom," she tells him. "Grandma wasn't very nice to me, but neither were a lot of people. Let's think of it like this, Zach. Let's say we have a friend who likes to hurt people. And they don't care if they get in trouble. So you send them away so they don't hurt anyone. Like a jail, right?" Zach nods along to her words. "Well, the Isle was where we sent everyone who wanted to hurt other people. But just because there wasn't anyone nice to hurt doesn't mean they stopped being mean. They just all hurt each other. My mom hurt my dad and my mom's friends hurt her and it was dangerous because it was like a game to some people. A game where they try to hurt you. And that's where Mom, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were born."

"So everyone wanted to hurt you?" Zach deadpans, looking extremely disappointed in the figurative friend Mal described. "Why didn't you leave?"

Mal hesitates. "Well... it was a prison for bad people. And Grandma and Grandpa thought that because our parents were bad, so were we. So we were trapped too."

Zach draws a fingertip down the spine of his book. "So you were trapped with lots of people who wanted to hurt you until Dad became King and said that you should come to see Auradon," he puzzled out.

"You've been reading ahead," Ben mumbled, staring at the book and spotting a bookmark near the end.

Zach nods and slumps into Mal's side. He rests a hand on her ribcage as he thinks about everything. "Mom?" He asks softly. "Were you evil?"

Mal looks like she's fighting back tears as she swallows and says: "A little, baby. Mom was a little evil."

"She wasn't evil," Ben disagrees. "She just didn't know what good was."

"Did you do bad things?" Zach asks.

It takes a long, long time for Mal to formulate an answer. Finally, she chooses the simple and truthful, "Yes."

"Why?" Zach frowns, sticking out his lip in a perfect pout that he inherited from her.

"Well, at first it was because people wanted to hurt me. Then it was all I knew how to do. And then it was because I wanted to show off and be mean. I wanted to be like everyone else." Mal does her best to explain, but she trips and fumbles up her words as she goes.

"What sort of bad things did you do?" Zach asks. Ben looks up to make sure she's holding herself together well enough to answer.

She kisses his head and combs his hair to the side. "I'll tell you that when you're a little older," She whispers. "And not before bed. I don't want to give you nightmares."

"Dad gets nightmares when she tells him things," Ben confides to his son. "And he's been listening for a long, long time."

"Does Mom get nightmares?" Zach asks. He looks up at Mal for an answer. Ben wishes there was an easy one. Not something that is like: "Every night, but sometimes more than others. Most of the time she can forget her own nightmares. Then other nights she wakes me up because she's holding onto me. And other nights she wakes herself up screaming and begging invisible monsters not to hurt her or me or you..."

"Sometimes," Mal whispers in the dark. "But I'm a big girl. I can deal with them."

Zach nods, gives her one last squeeze, and lies down. "I'm glad I live in a castle," he yawns, "And not in a prison."

Mal chuckles as she pulls the covers up around him and tucks him in. "Me too, baby," she whispers. "Goodnight."

* * *

Tyler turns six at the beginning of December and they celebrate by organizing a skating party with his friends from school along with a bunch of his cousins. Tyler blends right in with Evie's vibrant haired twins, and his spontaneity is only combated by Jay's two sons. Zach skates and then talks with the other parents and some of the older children for about two hours and then dozes off into his dad's side with a book.

On the way home with two little boys chattering in the backseat wildly, Ben takes a high overpass and they stop by a fast food joint for ice cream. The royal family crowds into a booth near a window and Mal barely manages to get Tyler's shoes off before he's off to play on the giant indoor jungle gym they have here. She sighs irritably, kicking his shoes under his chair, and puts her head down on the table. Ben laughs and rubs her back while Zach calmly removes his shoes and stows his book safety behind the salt and pepper in case ice cream happens to get on the table while they play. "Did you know that the first jungle gym was patented by Sebastian Hinton before Auradon was even formed?" He asks. "And that government regulation requires at least a foot of cushioning material underneath them?"

"I knew that," Ben nods. "Do you know why?"

"Because a fall from more than six feet can be lethal, especially if you're not landing on your feet," Zach replies.

"You can jump from higher if you don't lock up your joints and roll with the fall," Mal yawns noncommittally. "I once jumped from three stories up, had my fall broken by cardboard about halfway down, and rolled when I hit the ground. Didn't even bruise my ankle."

"That's dangerous, Mom," Zach deadpans. "Even a fall from ten feet can crush your spine. Gravity makes you accelerate to the ground at a rate of nine-point-eight-meters-per-second-squared. and you can't level out your acceleration at that point either, so you can't reach free fall."

Mal groans. "Well, I could tell you about the speed up thing you were talking about, but I don't know all the numbers."

"That's high school curriculum," Ben furrows his brow at Zach. "What have you been reading?"

Zach shrugs. "I found some big books in the back of the library. I don't like the one on chemistry, but the biology and physics ones are interesting. I also found some math books. Right now I'm reading about how they discovered the number for pi."

Ben drums his fingers on the table in thought and hums. "We need to go get you tested," He hums. "See what level you're at."

"According to the national standardizing system, I'm at an eleventh-grade reading level, a ninth-grade math level, a tenth-grade science, and a fourth-grade writing level. Also, I have lots of random knowledge," Zach informs them.

"I'd believe it," Mal sighs.

Ben snorts and nods towards the playground. "Go play, Zach. Keep your brother from beating anyone up for us, please?"

Zach nods and bounds off towards the structure. As he disappears into the towering plastic tubes, Mal says a little prayer of thanks that her son, despite how advanced he is, still finds joy in jungle gyms and recycled plastic forts. "Whose bright idea was it to have a son who's smarter than both of us?" She sighs.

"It's not that bad," Ben sighs, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her hair. "It's going to be interesting to see what he does."

He squeezes her body closer to him and Mal closes her eyes and groans again. "Now," she sighs, "If only Tyler could lose a little energy. Goodness, gracious."

Zach and Tyler come tumbling out of the slide together, laughing their heads off, and then take off towards the swings which hang under the fort and which you can swing back and forth on. Mal finds Ben's hand around her waist and squeezes it. "I like this," She whispers. "This is nice."

"It is," Ben agrees.

They stay for an hour or so. Long after the ice cream is finished and when Mal is half asleep, Ben finally calls them to get their shoes on. With flushed red faces and sweaty bodies, they clamber back out to their table where Ben and Mal start helping them get ready to go.

"It's really fun when we do things like this together, huh?" Ben asks as he helps Tyler slide his shoes onto his feet. "I like it when you guys play nice together."

"I like it when we fight," Tyler yawns, stretching his arms above his head.

Ben hides a smile as he finishes double-knotting Tyler's laces on one shoe and then glances at Zach. "Zach's been a really good older brother to you," he reminds Tyler. "Do you think you'd be a good older brother too?"

"No," Tyler frowns. He crosses his arms, daring Ben to refute his statement.

Zach pauses where he's been pulling on his coat and squints at Ben. Mal laughs - they look like twins when he does that. "Are you and mom having a baby?" He asks.

Zach's mouth falls open and his eyes grow wide in comic shock. Ben nods, trying to hold back a smirk, and pulls Zach towards him so he and Tyler stand side-by-side. "We're going to have another baby in our family in May," he announces slowly. "We don't know what it'll be yet, but we do know that Mom's going to be very tired until them, okay? So she might not be around as much."

"That's okay," Tyler straightens up. "So long as it's a boy and he doesn't get any of my toys. Also, if mom has to go to bed early, that's fine, but I think I should be allowed to stay up later while you tuck Zach in."

Ben hummed, sending a glance at his oldest as Zach rolls his eyes. The truth is that Zach is getting older now. Bedtime routines are shorter. He doesn't want them around when he's reading and he doesn't need lots of hugs or kisses before he goes to bed. Some nights he doesn't even wait for them in his room. He comes and waits in the living room, talks with them a little before bed, and then with a hug and kiss each walks himself off. His bedtime has, without Tyler's knowledge, been moved back. So long as he gets up on time, it'll stay that way.

Ben scoops up his youngest, soon-to-be middle child, into his arms and pokes his side where he's ticklish while Tyler writhes. Zach scoops up his book into his arms and then goes to Mal and holds out a hand to help her up. She chuckles a little at the help and then picks him up too. Zach, however, frowns and pushes her away a little. "Mom!" He whines. "I'm too big to be held! I wanna walk."

Tyler, upon hearing his older brother's words, starts beating his fists against Ben's shoulders. "Me too!" He exclaims. "I'm a big kid, dad! I can walk to the car by myself!"

"Race you there," Zach challenges, a competitive glint in his eyes that usually isn't there. Ben sets Tyler down and the purple-haired kid narrowly avoids running into the table in his haste to race his older brother. Both boys run out into the snow and begin fighting over the handles on the car.

Mal looks heartbroken. Her hands are miming the action of holding something, trying to understand when Zach became too big for her to carry. Sure, he's been getting heavier for the last few years, but now that he's told her, it's breaking her heart. Ben stares for a few seconds as he unlocks the car and the kids clamor in. Then he walks over and hugs her as she hides her face in his shoulder and calms back down. Before she can pull away to follow the children outside, he catches her face and whispers in her ear "Are you too big to be held?"

Mal gives him an odd look, and then he sweeps her off her feet. She yelps as he hooks an arm under her knees as she locks her hands around his neck. He carries her out past the other patrons, who are laughing, and into the car where the two kids are whining, begging for them to start the car. She laughs as the snow falls on their faces and when he sets her down on the hood, with the boys still complaining in the car, to kiss her, she responds with equal, almost childish vigor. Ben can't hear Zach and Tyler groaning and complaining in the car, but he sees them turn away, covering their eyes and pretending to barf, and can't stop the bubbling laugh that rises inside of him.

* * *

On December twenty-third, Ben gets off work long past the boy's bedtime and finds his and Mal's rooms empty. He checks both of the boy's rooms since Mal is sometimes prone to go cuddle with one of them before bed. Both love physical affection, something they inherited from both of them. Zach and Tyler are both still up and reading and playing quietly in their rooms, which isn't a problem, but he still asks them to go to bed soon.

He's just texting Mal to ask where she's vanished off to when the door to their room flies open and she stumbles in, dropping plastic shopping bags to the ground and clutching her hair. She kicks the door closed and turns to fling her gloves and scarf to the ground with a feral scream.

He stays still and blinks several times before he dares to ask "What happened?"

Mal starts wiping frustrated tears out of her eyes as she collapses down onto the bed and tugs herself into his side, seeking immediate comfort. "I took the boys to Evie's today and they were so impressed with the way she decorated her kid's presents. She has pretty paper and fancy folds and the bows are all pretty and they said her house looks like a Christmas card. So I thought I should try and go the extra mile and make things look nice here too. And I was going to make a 3D paper dragon and a 3D paper beast like I used to do in High School to put on each of their presents."

She pauses here, wiping streams of tears away and takes a deep breath. "But I didn't have the right kind of paper, so I had to put the boys to bed early and Tyler fought me, and then I had to go out but my car is low on gas so I took yours and traffic was horrible and three stores didn't have the type of paper I needed so I went all the way out to Cinderellasburg-" She flings her hand outwards, presumably to indicate Cinderellasburg even though she's more closely gesturing to Arendelle on the opposite side. "And they didn't have the right size cut so I waited extra while they cut it and I was trying to get home so I pulled out too fast-"

"You were in a crash?" Ben panics, staring at her in shock.

"Just a small one," Mal frowns miserably. "But - you won't believe this - there was a Christmas Tree festival right next door and cameras out and when they heard the brakes screeching everyone turned around and-"

"You were caught on Live Television sliding into someone," Ben realizes, chuckling a little at her misfortune. "I'm sorry, Mal."

Mal sniffles. "And then traffic was horrible and I got here and realized I got the wrong shade of green," She finishes. "This green looks like a lime was sunburned and cried itself to sleep."

Ben hesitates. There're a couple of different ways he could go about comforting her, and he starts by giving her a long hug as she starts to calm down. "You know you don't have to make them dragons and beasts," he mumbles. "They're kids. They're just going to rip the paper off anyway."

"But I want them to look nice," Mal whines. "I want them to have nice presents and nice wrappings like Evie's kids do."

"They do look nice," Ben sighs. "You spent an entire night last week wrapping them." All of Zach's have the royal crest on them and are blue and gold and all of Tyler's are purple and green with stripes. "They're not going to love you any less for not doing origami on top of them, I swear."

"But I have to at least try!" Mal snaps, sitting up and pulling at her hair. "If they don't turn out okay and if I ruin them and if evil really can be inherited and if anything my mother said about me is true then the very least I can say when one of them tries to destroy Auradon is that I tried to be a good mom and I tried to teach them what they needed and I tried to wrap their presents nicely at Christmastime."

"You're not going to ruin them," Ben groans. They've had this conversation over and over throughout the years. She never can believe him. "And a Christmas present decoration isn't going to tip that scale."

Mal shakes her head still and refuses to look at him. Finally, Ben sighs. "I'm sure they'll love it," he says. "But will you have time to finish? Christmas is in two days and you still need to sleep."

"It shouldn't take me too long," Mal sighed. She puts her feet underneath her and wanders over to where she dropped her shopping bags. Ben follows her and helps her pick everything up and put it on their bed. As he leans over, he sees a bit of purple hair in the living room, just behind the couch. He whips his head around and it's gone, but Ben's been with Mal and her friends for too long to write it off as imagination. He drops everything on the bed and marches back into the living room while Mal starts opening things and muttering instructions to herself under her breath.

No one is in the living room, so Ben opens the door to the hall and finds both boys sitting against the wall, whispering. They both stop and look up sheepishly when he crosses his arms in disappointment. Tyler looks madder to be caught. Zach just looks embarrassed.

"Do I want the explanation?" Ben asks slowly. Tyler looks at him in confusion at the bigger word. Zach just looks at the ground.

"We wanted to see our presents," Zach admits, blowing his bangs out of his face. He needs a haircut. "We're sorry."

"Sorry that you found us," Tyler mutters. Ben snaps. He reaches down and seizes Tyler's hair and uses that to haul him to his feet. Then, he gets down on his knees and glares at him.

"Well, I'm sorry you're sneaking around and breaking rules and making it so Mom and Dad can't trust you," He snaps. Tyler flinches away with wide eyes. They don't generally get yelled at, these two. Tyler's a little wild, but Mal usually keeps a close enough eye on him that there isn't a lot of wrongdoing he can do. He's obviously taking advantage of her bad day and recent exhaustion. Zach has never really needed the supervision. It makes Ben wonder how his oldest got weaseled into this scheme.

Ben swats Tyler's butt and pushes him in the direction of his room. "Go to bed," He calls, using the scary authoritative tone that makes meeting rooms still and which is guaranteed to make the two kids quake. Tyler's face goes red and tears start running down his face as he balls up his fists and stomps away. He slams his door when he reaches it. It's a great sacrifice of pride for Ben not to pull him back and really lay into him for that attitude. Zach, the moment he hears Ben start to yell, jumps up and sprints in the direction of his room. Ben hears the door closing a little too hard but knows Zach isn't trying to throw a tantrum - he's just trying to escape.

Ben pokes his head back into the room. Mal is standing in the doorway of their room, looking regretful. She's probably heard him yell maybe three times before, and only once at her when she tried to use her spellbook on him after he'd caught her lying. He waves her concerns off and then shuts the door into the hall as he heads down towards the boy's room. In Tyler's room, he's flinging toys at the ground in anger with hot-headed tears running off his cheeks. Ben picks him up, puts him in his bed, and goes around picking up some of Tyler's favorite toys and action figures to take away for a little while. Tyler just buries his face in his pillow and screams. He's tried throwing temper tantrums before, but Mal will use magic if he starts screaming aloud. He's still very good at making it clear he's angry, but at least his mother has trained him well enough. Ben locks the door from the outside as he leaves. He'll have to remember to unlock it before he goes to bed so Tyler can still go down the hall to the restroom if he needs it.

In Zach's room, the lights are out and it is dark and Ben doesn't see his son sitting in the corner of the room until he hears the hiccups and sees the hall lights reflecting off crocodile tears. He sets Tyler's confiscated toys by the door and goes to sit against the wall beside Zach, who recoils. Ben holds out an arm and after a few long seconds of hesitation, Zach hesitantly rolls into his dad's side and takes hold of his shirt as he cries. "I'm sorry," he cries. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."

"I am mad," Ben frowns. "You were sneaking around and you were eavesdropping on Mom and I. I trusted you to be better than that."

Zach begins sobbing. Ben's heart aches a little. He tugs Zach's chin up - he has a lot of Mal's features in his face -

and wipes his tears away. "Deep breaths," he whispers and Zach hiccups as he tries to calm down. "Now, Mom is working very hard on this Christmas for you two. I know it's hard to wait, but I need you to act maturely. You've got a big brain and you're very smart, so use it. Do you understand me?"

Zach nods furiously and then Ben pulls him in for another hug until Zach's breathing returns to normal against his chest. His son is about a third as tall as he is, he realizes. Maybe he's half of Mal's height too.

"Dad?" Zach whispers as he wipes the last of the tears away with the back of his sleeve, "What did Grandma tell Mom?"

The question catches him off guard. "What do you mean, champ?"

"Mom said 'if everything my mother said about me is true'," Zach quotes. "What did Grandma say to her?"

Ben sighs and rubs a hand up and down Zach's back. This is Mal's personal stuff he's digging into, and he doesn't want to go too deep. "Your Grandma," he sighs, tightening his grip around Zach's body, "Is as evil as they come. I don't like her at all. When Mom and I got married, her mom used to tell her that it wouldn't work out and that I was going to get bored with her. She said that I only wanted to marry someone from the Isle to look good and I picked her because she was very powerful on the Isle. And she said that if she and I had any kids together, then they'd be just as evil as she was because evil runs in her blood."

"Evil can't run in blood," Zach hiccups. "There isn't any genetic material for evil. All that's in blood are antigens and blood cells and plasma and nutrients."

"Well, you know that, and I know that, but she thinks otherwise," Ben sighs. "That's why Mom stopped talking to Grandma when she learned she was gonna be your mom. She didn't want to hear Grandma talk about you."

"Does Grandma know I'm here?" Zach asks, sitting up and then sliding to lean against the wall beside Ben.

Ben chuckles. "Well, I assume so, but we don't talk to her. You were kinda announced to the whole kingdom and there was a big coronation, remember?"

Zach nods even though logically there's no way he remembers that day. He has no clue about Mal's panic attacks and how she used to refuse to allow herself to be around Zach, sure that some evil that still resided on her would taint him. No idea how hard far she stretched herself to protect him from prying eyes, judging whispers, and a past that still follows in her shadow wherever she goes.

"Dad?" Zach asks, rubbing his eyes a little. He's gotten older and he now rubs his eyes the way Ben does - with his fingertips instead of his fists. "Is Grandma the reason Mom's so scared we'll grow up bad?"

Ben's hands still. His son is seven, still. How is he supposed to explain this to a seven-year-old? But, he figures, if Zach is able to ask the question, he's probably old enough to receive most of the answer. "Well, bud, that's a tough one," he sighs. "Give me a moment to think about how to respond."

Zach still sniffles every once in a while, but aside from that, everything is silent. Finally, Ben clears his throat. "Grandma... She wasn't a great mom. So, mom doesn't feel like she can be that great because she doesn't have a good example. She kinda just follows me and tries to not do what Grandma would do."

"What would Grandma do?" Zach mumbles.

Ben exhales. "Grandma... yelled a lot. She used to hit mom. Mom couldn't come home because she'd lock her out and sometimes she'd throw mom's stuff out in the street and she'd take money from other people who wanted to hurt mom."

"So she'd sell mom?" Zach asks softly. Ben can only nod.

"Yeah. She would." He pauses to think of other, specific things. "She used to tell mom that she wasn't good enough to be her daughter and that if she didn't do well enough then Grandma would just replace her with someone better."

"That's not how it works," Zach protests, sitting up. "What would have happened to mom? You can't just get rid of her."

Ben swallows. "Well, Zach, Grandma was talking about how she would kill mom. And she tried a couple of times."

Zach takes this ragged, hurt breath and Ben squeezes his small body. Partly to give him comfort, partly to comfort himself. "It's okay, though. Mom's tough. She took care of herself and now we don't talk to Grandma anymore."

"The Isle of the Lost sounds horrible," Zach hiccups and then slowly pushes away and sits up on his knees. "I'm sorry for sneaking. I thought mom had already wrapped the important things and so it wouldn't matter as bad."

"Well, you picked a bad day," Ben sighs, rubbing his eyebrows. "But it's okay. Just don't do it again."

Zach nods and gets to his feet before crouching down for one last hug. Ben watches his son go sit down on his bed and slowly gets to his feet himself. Zach pulls the covers up himself but doesn't protest when Ben fixes them even tighter around him and then kisses his hair before he leaves.

* * *

"Tyler," Ben calls, shaking his son's shoulder on Christmas morning. "Tyler, it's time to get up."

"No, it's not!" Tyler moans, pulling up his pillow and burying his purple hair underneath it. "It's never time to wake up. It's always time to sleep."

'Mood,' Ben agrees silently. "Alright," he sighs, standing back up. "I guess I'll have to tell Zach and Mom that they can split your presents because you don't want them." Immediately, Tyler flings the pillow, which is steaming a little, against the wall and jumps out of bed. He runs straight into Ben and then pushes his way through his legs to get to the door. Ben sighs in frustration but laughs at his antics nonetheless. He can hear Tyler hollering "It's Christmas!" Down the hall as he goes.

He follows his son to the Living Room and finds both anxious boys waiting beside the door he purposefully locked. He snorts as they bounce from one foot to the other and makes a big show of searching his pockets for the key. "I don't have it," He chuckles finally, and they both groan. Tyler jumps at him and shoves his tiny hand into Ben's pocket.

"Yes, you do!" He shouts. "You big, fat dragon-liar!"

"No, I don't," Ben laughs, backing up a little. "But, I bet that if you knock really, really softly, a fairy will hear you and open the door."

Immediately, both boys jump to the door. Tyler pounds on the door with hammering fists that rattle the hinges and Zach shoves his shoulder.

"No, Tyler!" Zach hisses. "Dad said softly!" He raises a tentative fist to the door and taps very, very softly against it. Immediately, the knob lights up green and clicks. Tyler twists it so hard Ben hears a pop that makes him wince, and then both boys poke their heads in and gasp in shock. Ben smiles.

Behind the door lies a paper winter wonderland. Hundreds of snowflakes that their family made yesterday spin on the ceiling, and presents are spread out among sparkly paper on the couches. Everything is separated into five sections. Zach's things cover one of the loveseats in shades of bright blue and with origami Beast's acting as an additional identifier. Tyler's are pushed a little bit more away from everyone else's and cover the floor behind the tree. Several long, purple and green dragons protect his horde. Ben and Mal's share the couch with modest white wrapping and beautiful, colorful bows on top. Then, in the center, there are some family gifts, most of which will be for the baby that will be here this time next year. The entire room smells like a pine forest and guitar music is playing in the background.

"Christmas!" Tyler shouts at the top of his lungs as Mal appears from behind the door, filming their reactions with her phone camera. He beats his chest with his fists and spins in a circle before thwacking against the couch and falling into a pile of sparkly white paper that Mal set out to resemble snow. Zach stares, openmouthed, at everything before he turns to Mal with an astonished look.

"You did all of this?" He gasps.

Mal looks surprised at his reaction. She nods, wiping the last remnants of her stress out of her eyes. "Yes, baby, Dad and I did this."

"Well, mostly mom," Ben argues. "I helped with her one-thousand snowflakes." He bats at one with an annoyed look. "And she wouldn't even use magic," He finishes with a sour look directed at his wife's camera.

"Thank you!" Zach exclaims, tripping over another wayward pile of paper snow as he rushes to hug her. He buries his face in her midsection when he reaches her and Mal almost drops her phone as she tries to return his hug. She looks absolutely relieved.

Tyler dashes into his pile of presents and lets out a dramatic shout. "We have dragons!" He yells, tugging one of the origami dragon present decorations off of his gifts and putting it on his head. He starts to run around the room, very narrowly avoiding running into Ben, with the dragon's long body flicking up and down with the wind as he goes.

"Dragons?" Zach asks, letting go of Mal and then running to lean over the back of the couch with his presents. He shouts in triumph. "Ha! You have dragons. I have Beasts!" He carefully pulls two up, makes them face each other, and then lets out a vicious roar that makes all of Ben's hairs stand on end. Mal stares in shock until Zach starts giggling and pulling off all of the other origami action figures.

"Dragons have better growls!" Tyler declares, rushing by Zach with his dragon flapping behind him. "Roooaar!" He bellows and jumps onto the empty armchair. However, his growl is more tame, not like Zach's animalistic one. It does have the hints of something demonic behind it, which he probably inherited from Hades and his godly roots but is overall a childish impression that makes Ben laugh as he goes to Mal's side and wraps his arm around her.

"I told you they'd love it," He whispers.

"Shh," Mal whispers with a smile as she leans into his frame, holding both hands to her belly. "I'm allowed to worry."

Tyler pulls off another origami dragon, rumpling the tail a little as he does, and then attaches both to his arms with the tape before stretching out his arms, airplane-style, and continuing his dash around the room. Meanwhile, Zach lines up his Beasts from largest to smallest in pride and then glances over his shoulder to where Ben and Mal are standing, waiting.

"Be right back," Ben whispers and then slips back into the hall. Mal goes to sit in the armchair and watches Zach leave to go pull his and her stockings off the wall. He puts his with his things and then hers with hers, and then he brings back Ben's and the baby's, which is lighter than everyone else's. The baby's he puts at Mal's feet before sitting cross-legged in front of the stuffed loveseat and reaching into his stocking to glance over his new things. A collection of chocolates and candies fall into his lap along with a new toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, and then a breakfast of bananas and tiny oranges. He happily pulls on a new pair of thick socks with the Beast Crest knit into them and then begins to carefully peel his oranges and eat them slice by slice while Tyler dashes around the room. He doesn't bring Tyler's stocking over - probably to punish him for all the extra noise he's making.

Tyler finally collapses with a sigh over Mal's lap, and she chuckles as she runs her fingers through his sweaty hair. He pokes at the stocking by her feet. "Is this mine?" He asks loudly.

"No, Beastie," Mal replies. "That's for Fae. We needed some things to start with her room."

"Fae?" Zach's shoulders slump as he stares up at her. "He's Beastie, they're Fae, and I get baby?"

Mal sighs. "I like your nickname," she tells Zach, leaning over to ruffle his hair as he wrinkles his nose at the contact. "And you know what, no matter where you go and how old you get, you're always going to be my first baby. That's not gonna change."

Zach sinks into the loveseat with a little groan before the door opens again. Tyler is filtering around in the baby's stocking, looking for candies. "There's nothing good in here!" He complains. "It's all binkies and funny rags and socks."

"You have socks and candies and breakfast in your stocking," Mal explains as Ben comes into view behind the loveseat. "I bet that if you ask Zach or Dad really nicely, they'll help you lift it down."

"My hands are full," Ben hums as he puts a mug of hot chocolate down beside Tyler and then another on the table for Tyler. "Zach, can you help Tyler get his stocking down?"

Zach sighs, walks to the wall, and pulls Tyler's black and red stocking down. "Here, Tyler," He says, putting it beside the table. Tyler clambers off of Mal's legs and takes a seat criss-cross-applesauce with his back to the table. He upends his stocking in between his legs and then begins sorting things to find his favorite chocolate bars.

"Thanks, Zach," He mumbles as he unwraps a chocolate cookie bar, dips it in his hot chocolate, and then begins to chew.

Mal sighs. "Beastie, don't forget to eat your breakfast," She reprimands. Ben puts a hand on her shoulder and presses a mug of steaming hot chocolate into her hands, taking care to squeeze her fingers before withdrawing to sit on the arm of the loveseat. Mal smiles at him before closing her eyes and sipping her drink.

Ben claps his hands together. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but there's nowhere to sit in here. We need to start going through these presents so we don't have to sit on the floor!"

"Or Mom could move," Tyler hums. "But let's do presents instead. Presents are better than breakfast anyway."

"Finish your banana," Mal commands, raising an eyebrow. "Zach is already almost done with his breakfast." She nods towards Zach, who doesn't look up as he pulls a segment of orange apart and squints at the tiny segments inside.

Tyler picks at the top of his banana and then slowly figures out a way to break into it. As mushy banana bits find their way to stick to his chin, he yanks the plastic bit out of his new socks and puts them on his feet before sticking them in the air to show Mal wordlessly.

Ben stands up and brings over his and Mal's stockings so that they can both locate their own breakfasts. Ben has muffins wrapped in crinkly plastic, and Mal has an abundance of strawberries and grapes. Tyler whines when he sees her strawberries. "Can I have some?" He begs, pulling on her pajama leg.

"You can after your breakfast is done," Mal bribes him. "And after we clean your face off."

They slowly make their way towards unwrapping things. Mal struggles to wipe off Tyler's face as he squirms while Zach waits patiently, tapping his fingers on the first present, which is heavy and has the lines that a hardcover book makes in the side of the paper. When Mal finally releases, Tyler, he practically explodes into his pile while Zach finally slides a golden letter opener under the line of paper.

"Clothes!" Tyler explodes, collapsing against the couch in disappointment. "My first present is clothes?"

Mal only rolls her eyes as Zach carefully puts his wrapping paper behind the couch and holds up his book to show them both with a small smile. "I got the book I wanted!" He exclaims softly.

Mal raises her eyes at the unfamiliar cover and then glances up at Ben. "Is that one from dad?" She asks softly.

"Yeah," Ben affirms. "Now, that book's a really high level, Zach. So if you need any help with it, let us know."

The cover of the book reads "Thompsen's Microbiology and Scientific Metaphysics - fourth edition".

"A textbook?" Mal whispers in confusion.

Ben nods. "He read the first few pages of it when a college student left it at a table," He whispers as Zach puts his book safely underneath the couch, where no hot chocolate spills can reach it, and then begins to look through his other gifts.

Mal can't help but feel like she missed a beat when she compares the things she got for Zach versus the things Ben got for Zach. There's a variety of other books on subjects she can't even begin to understand, among them "ASAP AP Biology", "Cryptological Mathematics", "Big Ideas Math", "Unsolvable Mysteries of the Universe", "Introduction to Biochemistry," "Understanding Psychology", and "Social Problems in Auradon - second edition." He's also got a planner, which she has a vague idea of how to use, two section-divided notebooks and fancy pens, and stickers with things like "Additional Information" or "Sources" on them. Meanwhile, she's given him a variety of clothes, a weighted blanket, a beanbag chair, and then a bookcase. There isn't much difference in how much Zach likes his presents between them, but she can feel the directional differences between her and Ben's methods palpably.

Tyler rips the paper off of his things so quickly that Mal barely has time to get photos in between, and then he gathers everything up on his own beanbag chair and munches on his chocolate while beginning a large Lego Block Kit on his stomach on the floor. The boys are both quiet then, as Zach collapses into his new chair and starts examining his microbiology textbook. Ben reaches over to the couch and hands things to Mal for her to unwrap. "I'm not sure he'll be able to read all those," he whispers in her ear in concern as they watch Zach flip a page and circle something inside the book. "They might be too hard for him."

Mal swallows and draws the tape back on her gift. She tries to ignore the fear twisting in her stomach. Part of her agrees with Ben. Metaphysics isn't exactly a third-grade subject, and Zach is turning eight next summer. He'd only be in the second grade if he was enrolled. There's no way he should be able to read anything in there. But the other, devilish part of her whispers: "What if he can read them? What if he is that advanced? What then?"

When the paper is all cleared away and everything wrapped has been uncovered and discovered, then Ben clears his throat and both boys look up. "Zach, we have one more thing that Mom and I have decided to give you." He puts his hand over Mal's as she takes a little breath. "But this comes with a lot of responsibility and there's going to be lots of rules attached."

Zach closes his book. "Yeah?" He asks, perking up a little in anticipation. Ben lifts the pillow on the couch and reveals a small box, about the size of Ben's palm, hidden there. Zach stands up, takes the gift, and then with one glance towards his parents, slowly unwraps it. Tyler leans forward in excitement, making wild guesses.

"Is it chocolate?" He demands as Zach rips a corner back. "Or is it a game? Or another book?"

But Zach pulls the paper back to reveal a slick white case, and his mouth drops open in comic shock. His eyes are wide and his cheeks flushed as he turns around a box with a photo of a phone on it. Tyler howls when he recognizes it. "No fair!" He says. "I want one!"

"When you're older," Ben shakes his head. Mal pulls the sulking child into her arms as Zach looks back down at the box in shock.

"Now, this is a tool," Ben explains, leaning forward as Zach slowly lifts the top and pulls out a blue-backed smartphone. "Mom and I know that you like to hang out in the library and wait for us, and we also know that you're reading a lot of advanced stuff and you won't always understand it. This is to help you find more information and also get in contact with Mom and Dad. We're going to put filters on what you can search though, and you have to leave it in our room at night, and we're going to search it, but this is yours."

"You can order your phone case," Mal mumbles. "Find a design you like and if you need help, let us know."

"This is so cool!" Zach exclaims, reveling in the thrill. He throws himself forward into Ben, and then into Mal. Tyler whines as he's squished in between his mom and older brother. Zach ignores him long enough to kiss Mal on the cheek.

"Go grab my laptop from my office," Ben suggests, "And I'll help you set up your phone and put music and games on it. Okay?"

Zach scrambles off, accidentally slamming the door to the hall in his excitement, and vanishes. Tyler groans from where he drapes himself over Mal's lap. "How come he gets a phone?" He moans. "He's not that much older. Can I have one next year?"

'Absolutely not,' Mal thinks. She already feels guilty giving one seven-year-old a cell phone despite his maturity and intelligence. "When you're ready for it, we'll give you one," she promises Tyler, kissing his forehead. "Zach is a lot older mentally. He's responsible enough for it. When you can remember to brush your teeth by yourself and you don't throw fits and you can clean up after yourself, we'll consider it."

Tyler whines and rolls off of her lap, thudding to the floor. Ben rolls his eyes as his youngest whines into the carpet. "You're really convincing us," He sighs, and then picks Mal up off the armchair to pull onto his lap. Mal curls into him for a second then opens her eyes and reaches for Zach's textbook. She opens it to the page he left it one and sees three six-syllable words circled with question marks beside them. Everything else, it seems, is clear.

Ben hums. "He must be a little further ahead than we thought," he mutters.

Mal feels like she might be sick. She's always known her baby was smart, but she skims the page and feels a headache coming on, she realizes just how far ahead. Her baby boy is officially smarter than her, and she wonders just how much time she has left before he realizes she's a complete idiot.


	28. Mommy Grew Up Different pt2

In January, people who know Zach see him with his new books and start throwing around the 'C' word. "He's so smart!" someone in the courts says while staying in the palace for the new year policy turnover and the subsequent overview of the previous year's records. "Are you going to send him to college before he becomes king?"

Other people make passing comments when they see him marking his textbooks up and scribbling little notes in his notepads. "Ben never went to college before he was crowned, did he?" "He's probably smart enough for university now." "What's he planning on studying?"

"He's not going," Mal shakes her head with anxiety clouding her soul. "He's not even eight yet. Not for another few years."

But the kicker is when the talk starts to get back to Ben. Because she can tell everyone in the courts that Zach isn't ready for college, but it's a mite bit harder to tell her husband, who knows their son quite well, the same thing."

"I think we need to get Zach tested to see what level he's on," Ben announces when she drops into bed and buries her face into her pillow. She can feel his eyebrows rise when she lets out a dissonant growl into the cushion. "Do you have an issue with that?"

"Depends," Mal sighs, rolling onto her side. "What's your reasoning?"

"I'm wondering if it might be beneficial to send him to school," Ben hums, reaching over to run his fingers through her hair. "He's smart. With a bit of training, he could be a certifiable genius."

It must be the hormones that make Mal immediately break down. "No," she moans, hiding her face away as her mascara clumps and then sticks to her face. "No, no, no. Ben, please don't do this to me. I'm not even forty - he's too little for college!"

"There are kids who go before they're eighteen," Ben frowns, picking her up and hugging her. "Why are you so afraid of it?"

"He's too smart," Mal sobs, still hiding her face. "Ben, he's entirely from your side of the family and it's only a matter of time before he realizes I have no idea what he's saying half the time and I - I don't want him to grow up and leave me!"

"Mal, he's not going to leave you. Just calm down," He pulls her hands away so he can wipe at her tears. "Listen, he's always gonna be around. He's going to be king when he's older. And you're always going to be his mom and he's always going to love you. He's not going to leave you behind just because he's smart. Do you realize he's smarter than me too? He came to ask me about electro-neogenesis and I didn't know and so he just shrugged it off and understood it wasn't something I had learned. He's not going to look down on you because you haven't learned certain things."

This is true, but Mal understands that Ben's wealth of knowledge is far greater than hers, and so if Zach's already more knowledgeable than Ben, her knowledge is probably insignificant. How did such a brilliant child come from her?

"I left my mother," She whispers. "I left when I went to school and when I learned about Auradon and met you. He could leave me. He could leave us."

"That's different," Ben replies flatly. "You recognized that your mother was abusive. And you still talked to her for years and years. The reason you stopped was because you got sick of her trying to hurt you. We are not abusive to Zach. He's not going to break things off with us."

"But what if he does?" Mal asks in despair.

"I didn't leave my parents," Ben points out. "We still see them every day."

"But what if he does?" Mal repeats, stressing every word.

"Fear of him leaving is a selfish reason not to help him succeed," Ben pinches his lips together and gives her a stern look.

Mal collapses into him. He rubs her back while she cries. It's a low blow, he knows, to point out a villainous characteristic in her, but he needs her to think about what's best for Zach right now. And now, hopefully, she'll come around.

* * *

On Valentine's day, Hades volunteers to watch the boys so that they can go out to dinner. It's a little odd - Mal's more heavily pregnant now, and they haven't gone out in a long while, and it's strange to not be with the boys for bedtime. Zach seems nonchalant about them leaving, but he doesn't exactly have them put him to bed every night anymore. Tyler is beyond excited when his blue-haired grandfather comes through the door and spends about ten minutes while Ben finishes getting ready wrestling with him, but when he finally figures out that Mom and Dad won't be back in time for bedtime, he's astonished. Still, he shakily agrees that all will be okay.

Ben's razor needs to be replaced, which is why it's taking him so long to get ready. Mal waits, watching Zach read and Tyler play with Hades, while Ben combs his hair and applies deodorant and grabs keys, wallet, everything he needs. And while she waits, she slowly starts peeling things off. First her gloves and then her scarf and heeled boots. Then her purse is flung onto the table and her hat set beside it. Tyler turns on the new electric fireplace to show Hades, and that's when Mal starts unbuttoning her overcoat to drop it on the cushion beside her. She's wearing a black dress with a low v-neck that's sleeveless. It still looks rather flattering despite her untrimmed figure.

None of the other room's occupants bat an eye as she leans back with more skin showing than she usually allows, and Zach doesn't even notice as he circles a phrase about centrifuges. His cell phone sits beside him along with his dictionary, which is used less now that many of Zach's unknown words extend outside the realms of common usage but is still valuable.

"Mal?" Ben appears from the bedroom, rushing to grab his coat on the wall, "Do you know where my cell phone is?"

"I think you left it on the table over there," Mal leans forwards and twists around to see it from where she sits on the couch, and Tyler lets out a horrified gasp.

"Mommy!" He wheezes as his arms still around Hades's neck, "Why do you have so many owwies?"

Ben stumbles while pulling his shoe on and knocks his elbow into the wall. Hades looks up, glances over his daughter's back, and his mouth drops open. Mal's face flushes deep red as she leans back into the couch, hiding the white marks across her back from view. In the end, it's Zach who speaks up. "They're from Grandma, Tyler," He says without looking up. "They're scars - they occur when the dermis layer of your skin is damaged."

"What?" Mal asks as she reaches for her coat and pulls it back on.

"The dermis?" Zach looks up. "It's the deepest of three main layers of-"

"Sweetheart, how do you know about Mom's scars?" Mal interrupts his explanation. She shoves the coat over her shoulders with a deep frown and buttons it back up. Ben winces from the side of the room.

"I just guessed," Zach shrugs. "Because Grandma used to hit you."

"Hit you?" Hades repeats softly, and Mal glances back and forth between the two boys.

"Who told you that, Zach?" She demands.

Ben takes in a hissing breath. "Mal, that was me," He calls. "He heard you talking about Maleficent and asked me about her. I watered things down, but..."

Zach furrows his brow then. "You lied?" He asks.

"No," Ben shakes his head. "No. I just didn't tell you everything because that's Mom's business and because I don't think you'd like to hear." He glances to the side at Mal. "Sorry," he mutters.

Hades stands up, shrugging off Tyler, and stares at Mal's coat as if he can see through it. "Those were some long hit marks!" Tyler exclaims with wide eyes. "When I hit my hip against my desk, it only made a dark mark. Not a white one. And mine was only this big." He peers through a hole in his hands to accentuate his point.

"They're not hit marks, Beastie," Mal admits, picking up her scarf and avoiding eye contact with her father. "Mom just has lots of old cuts on her back."

"Cuts?" Zach asks.

"Cuts?" Hades echoes sadly.

"Ben, are you ready to go?" Mal asks through clenched teeth.

Ben nods, still looking guilty, and pulls on his second shoe. He retrieves his phone and then picks up Tyler to hug him goodbye. Tyler squeezes him and points at Mal over his back. "I want lots of cool marks like Mom!" He exclaims. "She looks like a warrior!"

Ben and Mal both wince, and Zach sets aside his book, looking very sad. As he's gotten older, he's gotten better and better at reading social cues, and he knows that whatever he just said, he's made a bad situation worse. He hugs Ben around his neck and then twiddles his thumbs as Mal pulls on her gloves and shoes and picks up her bag before giving her his second hug.

"Be good," Ben instructs the boys. "Mom and I will be back before morning. If you misbehave, Grandpa has permission to send the furies after you."

"That's right," Hades agrees weakly. "You don't want to meet them, huh?"

"I could take fury!" Tyler beats the air with tiny fists. "Bring it on!" But then Ben and Mal step towards the door, and he drops his act. "Wait! Mom! Dad!" Tears start leaking down his cheeks, and Hades has to grab him before he follows them or lights anything on fire. Whichever comes first.

Mal doesn't speak all the way down to the car.

* * *

Mal knows she's doomed to being a college mom before forty the moment Ben helps Zach out of the car in March. They're not enrolling him(yet), or letting him look at any of the extracurriculars(yet), or even talking about sending him here(yet). They're only there to talk to the dean of admissions, who wants to talk to Zach and get an idea of where he's standing with his education.

Zach looks around with wide, amazed eyes. Everyone is taller than him and carrying backpacks and stacks of papers and clipboards and cellphones. In his arms in his prized dictionary, his lucky blue pencil, and a little notepad Ben let him take from his desk for the day. "This place is so cool!" He says, craning his head to peer underneath Ben's arm at a large cast-iron statue of someone important who Mal doesn't recognize. "Dad, did you go to school here?"

"Nope," Ben replies, putting a guiding hand to the back of Zach's neck and navigating him around a couple of teenaged girls who are chatting on the edge of the sidewalk about how class was. One girl with long, brown hair smiles at Zach and waves at him before gesturing back down to her friends at an assignment she has open on her phone. "I went to Auradon Prep and then became king. There wasn't enough time for me to go to school. But since you're not on grade level, Mom and I thought we'd get you tested here to figure out when you might like to come."

"I like it here," Zach confides in them, leaning forward to see what's to see up ahead. Mal's toes curl into her shoes. Couples are making out and walking around with their hands in each other's back pockets. There are boys wrestling and girls putting on makeup and people she can't tell are boys or girls and shadowy, pale-skinned creatures who bob their heads to deathly tunes. There are things she doesn't want Zach copying yet.

Ben still plays the part of a king as they go. He knocks knuckles with people who recognize him and wave to people on the benches and moves a little slower on instinct if someone holds a camera up. They don't have any security around as people point phones at her and Zach either. Usually, if Mal is around, she's considered protection enough. Perks of being from the Isle of the Lost, but right now, Mal could do with some sort of guard to protect her baby from all the people here.

Ben opens the door to the main building and then finds a secretary who takes them back through several narrow, tan-carpeted hallways before the family pauses outside a grey door. Ben steps back and indicates Zach can knock. Zach wastes no time in stepping up and rapping his knuckles against the metal door A balding man with a bright smile opens it. He isn't surprised to see the royal family, sans Tyler, in the hall. He welcomes them all in, shaking their hands, and offers them all the seats in his office. There's only two, but he takes the cushioned, wheeled chair from behind his desk and offers it to Mal, insisting that he was planning on walking around a lot anyways.

"Well, Prince Zach, it's lovely to meet you," He starts, and Mal is thrown off-guard by her son's title. All the people who know him don't ever use it. Even in the courts, he's 'the prince' or 'Zach', sometimes with adjectives like 'little' or 'smart' thrown in front of his name. He's more commonly referred to as 'Ben's son' than 'Prince Zach', which has always irked Mal a little because Tyler has been described the opposite from the beginning. 'Mal's son', they refer to him, even though both children come from her and Ben. And Tyler looks like Ben has dyed his hair and taken on a new attitude... Zach has her face all mixed'n'mashed with Ben's. Ben's comment from day one has been about how everything from Zach's cheeks down is like someone copy and pasted her facial features onto his. His lips have gotten a little thinner over the years, but still!

"I've always heard you're the palace's little genius," the dean of admissions continues, "and I'm very excited to see how much you know today. You can call me Mr. Jensen."

"I know a Jenson," Zach whispers as he leans forward and shakes Mr. Jensen's hand. Ben's mannerisms. "Are you going to test me?"

"I will in a moment," Mr. Jensen replies. "You're going to take parts of four tests that we've combined into one for people like you. It'll go over English... math... science... and you'll be asked to write a little too. There's part of an International Bachelorette test, an Advanced Placement exam, an Auradon College Testing exam, and then a Scholastic Aptitude test. For the writing part, we're going to have you respond to two simple prompts from this school's admission essays."

"Can I see the prompts?" Zach asks, looking down to list the four tests on his notepad. Mr. Jensen chuckles.

"I have them here," he says, picking up a paper from his desk. He clears his throat and then begins to read aloud. "Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. And then the second is to describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?"

Mr. Jensen then looks over the tops of his glasses at Zach. "I have some alternates if you'd like them, but many of them are about problems you've faced before. We figured that these would interest you more and that you would have more to say on them."

Zach nods in understanding and doesn't ask to see the additional prompts. He continues scribbling on his little notepad while Mr. Jensen replaces the prompts in a little white folder that Mal assumes is for Zach. "When do I have to start?" He asks when he finishes writing.

Mr. Jensen pulls two forms from his desk and two clipboards from where they are stuck in a bookcase. "Unfortunately, Zach, we have to wait just a moment. Mom and Dad have to agree to let you take everything on the test. If there's something that they don't want you to test on, we might have to come up with an alternative."

Mal feels like both a powerful overseer and a lurking villain as she takes the clipboard from the aged Dean. She could always shake her head and say she doesn't feel comfortable with him taking such an advanced exam, but then she'd crush her little baby. She listens to Ben tap his pen against the clipboard as he thinks and tries to focus. She skims past the purpose and the procedure, then closely examines the risks, which have several bullet points she doesn't immediately like. "Your child will be tested on medical conditions and procedures including but not limited to cancer, chemotherapy, AIDS, Herpes, and HIV. Please notify the test administrator if you do not wish your child to respond to these questions." "Your child will be asked to respond to questions regarding reproduction in both humans, animals, and plants. Please notify the test administrator is you do not wish your child to respond to these questions." "Your child will be asked historical-based questions regarding race, class, war, gender differences, and major political events." Beside the last point, several scribbled notes have been added. "Formation of Auradon, Reign of Villainy, Isle of the Lost."

Mal opens her mouth about the same time Ben does. "Can we see these questions?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

Mr. Jensen nods and then pulls a large testing booklet out of Zach's folder. He flips through it for a moment, then hands it to Ben and Mal, pointing to a collection of questions. Mal's head starts to pound. She glances at Ben, and he nods in affirmation before Mr. Jensen flips the page a few times. Mal glimpses a collection of Punnett Squares, which she remembers how to use, and some related questions on blood type and sex-linked diseases. Those are okay.

Mr. Jensen flips to the very back of the booklet and then backs off as they skim the questions. Mal sees questions regarding Belle and Adam's decisions to make the Isle, and then a few questions about what year the throne was passed on and what King Ben's first proclamation was about, and then a couple regarding the fall of the barrier and the effects of reopening Auradon. Most of the questions are pre-Auradon, though. Things about Kingdom revolts and different trends in different places and major discoveries 9and events.

"Those are all okay," Ben nods, sitting back and continuing reading the form. "He knows all of those."

"He does?" Mal asks, blinking a little.

"Yeah," Ben nods. "Well, not all of the medical conditions, but he's got the theories behind them. He'll be fine."

"He knows about Aids?" Mal feels her shoulders roll forward. "And Herpes?"

"He knows about pathogens and Helper T cells and how pathogens can lie dormant inside of your body," Ben replies, continuing to skim. "That's what they're asking about. The diseases themselves are just examples." He pauses, then looks up. "Pathogens are just viruses or bacteria. And Helper T cells mark them so your body can destroy them."

Mr. Jensen snorts a little as Ben defines the words for her. Mal feels her cheeks grow hot. Zach slumps back into his chair a little with a sigh. "Can I have a book?" He asks, eyeing the bookcase behind Mr. Jensen's desk.

"We're almost done, champ," Ben hums as he signs his name off on the consent line and dates it. He glances at Mal, who looks back down with a swallow. She reads through the confidentiality statement and then glances at the time duration.

"Four hours?" Mal asks, looking back up. "Four hours straight?"

"He'll take a half-hour break after the first two sections or at the one-and-a-half-hour mark," Mr. Jensen explains. "And he's allowed, because of his age, to go get water or use the restroom at any time. I'll provide a few snacks as we go too." He pulls from behind his desk a large plastic tub with graham crackers, juice boxes, fruit snacks, peanuts, and tiny oranges. Zach's eyes light up. "If he finishes early, then I'll call you and let you know."

"Do you want us to stick around and wait for him?" Ben asks, handing the form and the clipboard back to Mr. Jensen.

"Most participants test better without the pressure," Mr. Jensen shakes his head. "I'd suggest going out and finding something to entertain yourselves with while you wait without going too far."

Mal signs off her name and hands the clipboard to Mr. Jensen. He takes it with a nod and then turns to Zach, gesturing around the room. "Is this a good place for you to take a test?" He asks. "Or would it be easier for you in a classroom?"

"I don't know," Zach shrugs. "I've never taken a test before."

"Let's take it in the classroom then, so you can get used to it," Mr. Jensen decides. He opens a side door and Zach gets off his chair to follow him into a large room with many wooden desks lined up in a semi-circle with seven rows. "Pick anywhere you like," Mr. Jensen tells him, and then brings the tub of snacks in too. Ben and Mal hover in the doorway to watch Zach go to the left side of the front row and sit down to wait.

"You aren't allowed to talk to me at all during the test unless there's a problem with the papers," Mr. Jensen begins to explain. "These questions are all different levels from lots of different areas, so it's okay if you don't know them all. It's better to skip questions you don't know and come back to them later. One strategy a lot of students use is to pick a letter - A, B, C, or D - and then go back and fill in all the questions for that letter if they run out of time."

"Use B," Mal calls from the doorway, interrupting Mr. Jensen's spiel. She remembers that strategy from high school. Mr. Jensen laughs with a nod.

"I can show you where the restroom is when you need it. Please fill in the bubble on the sheet all the way so that the computer can grade it and we can tell you in two days what level you're on. Someone else will have to read the writing portion and tell us about it. Any questions?" Mr. Jensen crosses his arms as Zach thinks for a moment and then shakes his head. Mr. Jensen holds out his hand. "I'll have to take that dictionary away from you, son," He says. "You're not allowed to have it until the end of the test. Do you have a phone?"

"Not here," Zach pouts as he hands the dictionary over. "Please take care of it. It's important."

Mr. Jensen nods and then sets the dictionary down at the lecturer's desk at the front of the room, giving it a little pet to accentuate how it is safe. Then he looks back up at them. "You can leave whenever," he calls. "Just let yourselves out."

"Be good, Zach!" Ben calls, waving at their son. Zach waves back with a little smile, and then they step out of the room and leave the office into the hallway. Ben puts an arm around Mal's shoulders as she sighs. "He'll be okay," he assures her.

They wander out onto campus and through people and end up in a cafe somewhere while Ben checks through his emails and Mal drums her fingers anxiously, peering between her cellphone and a bell tower that rises above the main building on campus. Ben orders them lunch - sandwiches and shakes and cake for dessert - and then has to step outside to call one of his advisors about a file that was sent out incorrectly.

A song Mal has heard before starts on the cafe radio. It's very fast and catchy. She taps her foot along and then the baby kicks against her ribs in a sharp motion that has her wincing and grabbing her side to rub the hurt area.

Ben finally returns and puts his phone down with a sigh. "Sorry," he mumbles and then picks up a sandwich.

Mal shrugs. "Work has to get done," she sighs. The baby kicks again, making Mal groan. "Stop kicking me," she pokes her belly back.

"They like music," Ben chuckles across the table as his phone buzzes and he flips it back over with a sigh.

"What?" Mal raises her eyebrows and Ben looks back up, a little unfocused as he tries to remember what he'd said. Finally, it comes back to him.

"Oh, you always complain about them kicking when music is playing. I think we have a dancer on our hands."

Mal pinches her lips together as Ben goes back to his phone. "I hadn't realized," she mutters under her breath. Ben snorts and picks up her hand across the table. She squeezes his fingers as he finishes skimming the text and then flips the screen back over to gaze into her eyes.

"One genius, one dragon, and one dancer," he whispers.

"Tyler dances," Mal reminds him. "He was asking me if he could try singing too. So maybe we'll have a performer."

Ben snorts, squeezing her hand even tighter. "You're a great mom," he whispers. "I'm glad I picked you."

Mal blushes a little. "I'm just glad that I turned out okay. I honestly was afraid I'd lose control and hit them or scream from time to time."

"No, that's me," Ben rolls his eyes. "But it's okay. We're both doing well. Everything will be okay."

Mal nods in agreement, though her mind jumps back to that classroom where Zach may or may not be struggling with his test.

Four hours later, they pick him back up. His face is red with barely-contained frustration and his pockets are stuffed full of gummy bears and fruit snacks. Mr. Jensen looks amused as he files Zach's responses for someone to read and grade. "He did well," he explains. "But his knowledge isn't un-emcompassable - he was very frustrated with not knowing enough about definitions or terms to answer a question even if he knew the theory behind it." It turns out that Zach had actually needed the full four hours, and he still ended up filling in a lot of 'IDK Letter B's'. He practically seethes as they walk back down to where they parked the car and get in to go to the palace. Ma isn't surprised when he begins to complain as soon as all the doors are shut.

"I didn't know what the options were for the cancer questions, so I had to guess!" He says, crossing his arms and stomping his feet into the floor of the backseat. "And I didn't know any animal hormones or about the endocrine systems, and I didn't know what the Hilbert problems were and two of the English problems asked the same thing and I couldn't answer because they both used the word chimerical." He flips through his returned dictionary while Ben pinches his lips together in amusement. Mal, too, finds it funny that he's so riled up about not knowing things, but she understands. After all, she just spent four hours worrying about exactly how much he does know compared to her.

* * *

Mr. Jensen brings Zach's reports up to the palace personally two days later. Zach is in the library when he comes, so Ben and Mal decide to get the rundown first and then take the information to Zach. So they gather in Mal's office as he unloads a few comprehensive reports with a small smile.

"This is his English scoring," he says first, showing them a few bar graphs of knowledge standing based on the averages of other age groups, and Mal's heart aches to see Zach's indicated line up in a sophomore level of college. "And that's also his highest score. Meanwhile, his Science and Math..." he puts down two more graphs, and these are only slightly more reasonable. Science dips into a ninth or tenth-grade knowledge, but a scribbled note reads: "Account for youthful lack of term knowledge - 11th grade." Math reads at a solid tenth-grade mastery level. There's one last paper that groups together general history knowledge, medical information, and then apparently her son knows some German and French? He's scored at the lowest comprehensive level for the two languages.

"I would honestly be comfortable to start him in with college classes if not for one major issue," Mr. Jensen says, pulling out the last paper. He slides it forward, and Ben begins to laugh while Mal processes what she is reading. "Your son cannot write very well," Mr. Jensen finishes. "He writes at a second or third-grade level."

A scan of Zach's question response sheet reveals two shaky lines of a very direct answer. He obviously didn't get the idea of an 'essay'. His handwriting shows the courage of someone who knows what they want to say but holds the shakiness of someone whose hand isn't trained to writing very nicely or for very long amounts of time.

"He's also not quite as mature as he thinks he is," Mr. Jensen continues with a shrug. "He gets frustrated and his attention span isn't very long and he gets distracted easily. But that wouldn't be a huge deal, necessarily. We just have to get his essay writing up to scratch and he'd be fine."

"We'll talk," Ben decides, glancing at Mal. "We might hold off a while. He needs to be a kid for a little while longer and I don't want to push him towards this. If he wants to go, I have nothing against it, but it's not my goal to push him through college yet."

Mal nods along with him. She's more than okay with waiting, and now she has a good cover.

* * *

"Are you really thinking of sending him to college?" Evie asks Mal and Ben while all the VK's sit together in the palace library, talking to each other. Mal hums and combs her fingers through Zach's hair. He's sitting beside her and reading a book on unleashing creativity. It's an interesting read for him - he usually doesn't like self-help books.

"Not yet," Ben shakes his head. "He can't write well enough yet. But we're keeping an eye on him and we'll see."

Zach yawns and curls into Mal's side while he reads. In her lap, she's balancing a sketchbook at an angle so she can see the bottom of the paper around her belly. This baby is bigger than Zach was but smaller than Tyler was. Mal's hoping they're a good mediator between the two boys. They don't seem as temperamental, but she could do without the dance parties in her belly every time she's near music. The baby almost tipped her over yesterday with several sharp kicks to the right side of her stomach.

The door opens and Tyler appears in the doorway. They put him to bed a while ago, and so Ben frowns to see him. "Mom?" He whines from the door, flinching away from his dad's stern gaze, "I can't sleep. Can you come sit with me?" He rubs his eyes a little and then Mal noticed his black, weighted blanket pulled over his shoulders like a cape.

"Not now, beastie," Mal hums, adding a long, thick line to her drawing. "But you can come sit with mom as she finishes this. Then I'll come and take you to bed."

Tyler tugs his blanket into the room and comes to hop up next to her. He pulls his blanket up and Mal sets her sketchbook down to help him pull the edge up around his ears. Evie chuckles from across the room as Tyler tucks the corners of his blanket around her legs in a show of goodwill.

"Former mistress-of-evil-in-training turned pillow," she calls as she cuddles her own children to her chest.

Ben rolls his eyes at Evie's description. He loves moments like these when he can see how close his boys are to their mom. He watches Tyler put a hand to his mom's belly and frown. "The baby is kicking me," he complains. "Can you tell him to stop?"

"If only it worked like that," Mal sighs as Zach closes his book and leans his head on her belly.

"Baby," he mumbles softly, patting right beside her belly button. "Kicking isn't nice. Don't kick mom anymore."

Miraculously, the fleeting in the side of her stomach ceases. Mal raises her eyebrow at her oldest. "Oh, of course they'll listen to you," She sighs. Zach curls into her even further and closes his eyes. The other adults laugh as she rolls her eyes and then combs her fingertips up and down Zach's back until Tyler whines and presses his head into her. She keeps drawing aimless patterns on Zach's back while using her other hand to start combing through Tyler's purple locks while both boys lean against her belly like it's a pillow.

"Careful," Ben warns as Tyler closes his eyes. "They're going to go to sleep on you."

"You can help me carry one of them up," Mal replies and then yawns. She closes her eyes and hears Ben stand up. He pulls two more blankets up out of a chest and then she hears him flap them out before one that's thick and fluffy falls over Zach's frame and covers one of her hands. She pulls it out to keep rubbing his back through the blanket and then a woolen blanket falls over her chest and legs. Ben lifts Tyler's head onto the blanket. Despite what he said about not being able to sleep, he's out cold. Zach manages to move his own head, but by the time Ben leans down to kiss the crown prince's forehead, Zach is snoring softly.

Mal peeks out underneath her eyelashes to watch as Ben kisses Tyler's head, tilting his son's chin up so he doesn't start drooling on her, and then kisses her cheek before returning to his seat on the couch with Evie and Doug and Carlos and Jane and Jay. Mal keeps her eyes closed, humming to both of her children and quietly petting them.

"Back when we were teens, I never thought she'd be a good mom," Carlos hums.

"Oh, she's fantastic," Ben replies. "Did I tell you about her Christmas fiasco? She surprised them with origami decorations on their presents. They were thrilled."

"I'm glad she's good at what she does," Evie sighs and Mal can hear her brow in closer to Doug. "It gives me hope that I can do something right."

"You do plenty good," Doug sighs. "You just don't let yourself see it."

"Mal's the same way," Ben says with a groan. "I kinda left this out, but the Christmas present thing? When I told her that it wouldn't matter in the end, she said that if the kids turn out as evil as Maleficent then at least she could say she tried to wrap their presents nicely at Christmas."

"I'm still awake, Ben," Mal made a face in his general direction. "I can hear you."

"Evie had a breakdown when someone gave Lexi makeup. It was a kid's set, but she started crying about how she was turning into her mother."

"Mal always has a tough time when the boys ask her about the Isle of the Lost."

"Wait," Jane interrupts with a tiny gasp. "Are they already asking about the Isle?"

Mal groans and covers both Tyler's and Zach's ears. She's positive they're both fast asleep, but it makes her feel better. "Zach is," she sighs. "Tyler doesn't care yet. He'll ask questions if Zach brings something up, but he doesn't care yet."

"Zach told Hades and Tyler that Maleficent used to hit her," Ben sighs, and Mal opens an eye to watch him pinch the bridge of his nose. "And then we were trying to explain it to him, and he asked if she'd been abused. I didn't even know he knew what that meant."

"He looked me up on his phone," Mal calls, closing her eyes again. "I was looking through his history and he was searching through my old interviews. But he was filtered out by our family system, so he didn't end up reading anything."

"That's scary, " Evie whispers. "I thought I had a few more years."

"I don't even have the years I thought I'd have with Zach!" Mal complains. "He's like a forty-year-old stuck in a seven-year-old's body!"

"You probably still have time," Ben consoles Evie. "But Zach? He's trying to study AP Physics and I'm completely lost."

"That's funny, considering he's your son," Jay laughs and Mal opens her eyes to frown at her old friend as he leans over to shove Ben's arm. "No way those genius genes came from Mal."

Ouch. Mal fixes the blankets around her and the boys as she glares at the carpet. She can't exactly fault Jay even as his words cut deep and sting because she thinks the same thing at least twice with every question Zach has.

"That is not true," Ben hisses, smacking Jay's hand off his arm. Mal lets her gaze flick upwards but doesn't say anything as she tucks Zach's blanket around him tighter. "Just because she didn't have a lot of school time doesn't mean she's not a fast learner. Zach's reading might come from me, but his memory is hers."

"Ben," Mal shakes her head. "He's right. I've accepted it." Sort of.

"No, he's not right," Ben snaps back, glaring at her now. "Don't you dare think that."

His voice doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for argument, but Mal still clears her throat and acts as if this entire conversation isn't hurting her. It's almost as if they're discussing whether or not she's Zach's mother after everything she's gone through with him and how hard she's tried and all the love she has for him in her heart. "Ben, he was four when he first realized that you know-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Ben shakes his head at her.

"You were the one defining things for me at-"

"Mal, go to sleep."

She sighs, opens her eyes long enough to roll them and then lets herself sink back into the couch, cuddling both of her beautiful little boys to her chest. She hears the conversation start back up - Ben starts regaling everyone with tales of the boys' winter recitals. Tyler did a hip-hop dance with his department and Zach had a solo riff in his guitar lessons. He's been talking to them about learning to play the piano lately. She lets the background noise fade into a low buzzing and then slowly feels herself drift off.

She feels herself wake back up hours later when Ben picks Zach up off of Mal and carefully wraps the blankets around him before carrying off. She slowly gets to her feet, yawning, and then gathers Tyler up in much the same way.

When she puts him into his messed bed, avoiding his toys on the floor, she takes the time to kiss his head and tuck the covers around his body. Purple hair sweeps up at odd angles on his pillow, and she can see the lightning-shaped buzz cut he asked for in the side of his hair. Her baby boy. The one that looks and acts like her. Her three boys are her whole life, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Tyler bursts into a meeting that she and Ben are sitting in on. His shirt has white marks up and down it and more white streaks that look like they're from a chalk marker cover him. "Mom! Dad!" he shouts upon entering and dashes up to the head of the table as everyone jumps and spins around. "Look at me!"

"Why do you have white all over you?' Ben asks as he turns in his seat in obvious alarm.

"Did you get into Mom's paint markers?" Mal demands, seizing his arm and rubbing at the white marks on his arm. "You did! Why were you in my studio?"

"Look, mom!" Tyler proclaims, showing them his arms and pointing to sparse marks up and down his skin. "Now I have battle marks like yours!"

Silence overtakes the room as Tyler keeps an index finger on a smudged line on the inside of his elbow, waiting for praise. A few court members let out breaths as they connect the dots and realize what "battle marks" Tyler means.

Ben seizes his son's arm and uses his leg to push his chair out. Mal's face is burning as the other royals exchange cautious glances between her and Tyler. "Cover me," Ben orders, and marches Tyler to the door quickly. It's open because Tyler burst in and didn't close it. He pushes him out into the hall and Mal can hear his stone-hard voice start to lecture their younger son before Ben closes the door behind them and then the meeting can proceed as normal.

Except now no one will meet her eyes and the marks on her back are burning even though they're almost twenty years old.

* * *

"But Mom! I just wanted to look like you!" Tyler whines as he flops his head against his pillow. Mal sits down on the bed with a sigh to talk to him.

"That's not a good way to do it, Beastie. Mommy doesn't like people knowing she has those marks."

"Why? They tell everyone that you can kick their butts!" Tyler wrinkles his nose up as he starts to howl. He's still perturbed by Ben hauling him into the bathroom and scrubbing off every mark with a loofah, leaving sensitive skin behind.

"People already know that, Tyler. Those marks just tell them that someone hurt me. When you came in today, you told everyone that I had been hurt." Mal struggles to explain. Zach understood from the beginning that you don't talk about things that hurt other people, but Tyler struggles to understand the concept.

"But it was a long time ago!"

"But it still hurts me, Tyler."

"Maybe you should get over it." Tyler crosses his arms and glares at her. Mal sighs and struggles to keep a biting remark in the back of her throat. 'Isle remarks' she calls them. Things she would say if she'd never left.

"Maybe you should be more kind," She responds instead, rising to take her leave. She'll try again tomorrow when he's hopefully calmed down more. Unfortunately, Tyler jumps up, scrambles to the end of his bed, and shakes the footboard on it as he starts to scream after her:

"You're not kind! Dad's the nice one around here! You're just the mean, nasty, stupid dragon!" He leans from side-to-side to ram the bed into the wall and Mal waves her hand at it so he can't damage the sheetrock. That only incites him to drive it harder against the wall.

"Goodnight, Tyler." She flicks the light off.

"If you want to die then go ahead because I won't care!" Tyler screams with giant crocodile tears streaming down his face. Mal moves to close the door quickly to hide her tears, but a large hand appears in the center of the door and flings it back open. The handle slams into the wall and breaks off, clattering to the floor. Ben pushes her aside - not roughly, just guiding her over a few feet - and then blazes into the room and snatches Tyler by the back of his shirt. Her six-year-old lets out a piercing howl of protest that leaves her ears ringing. Ben growls right back. She's never seen him so angry. His face is so red and purple it looks like it's bruised over and swollen. He looks taller than he is with his big hands shaking like he's his own personal earthquake.

Mal turns away and leans against the wall, staring at the opposite side of the hallway as she hears a resounding smack echo from inside the room. Tyler's screaming cuts off and then he starts to cry. Meanwhile, Mal covers her ears and closes her eyes.

She and Ben are not above spanking the children for bad behavior, especially when things like death threats come into play. However, it's never really practiced. Zach obeys and listens and is calm. Tyler is the opposite, but he more often needs time to himself or a stern look from one of them. Not a thrashing, usually.

She hears another sharp smack echo from inside the room and flinches. Is she a bad mother, for letting Ben punish their son for his temper tantrum? It's not like she's her mother, digging knives into them and punishing them for using their full names and yelling at them every moment of every day, but she has to wonder if she's allowing the cycle of abuse to circle around to her offspring, even if it is turning a little more slowly now.

It seems like years have fallen off her lifespan before she hears Ben toss their sobbing child into his bed, yank his covers over him, and stomp to the door. "If I ever hear you speak to your mother like that again," he snaps, seizing the wobbly, broken door handle as he starts to step back into the hallway, "I will spank you until you are black and blue. You do not get to say things like that to her."

He slams the door so hard that the handle, already broken on the other side of the door, flies straight out of his hand and into the opposite wall. He cusses at it as it lands back at his feet and then kicks it down the hall toward the living room before stomping away. Usually, he'd stop to reassure her, but she just assumes he's too far pissed to even be able to control his voice and so she turns in the opposite direction to let a few tears slide down her cheeks.

Several minutes pass. She listens to Tyler crying in his room into his pillow and then slowly his hiccups stop and there's only soft breathing. Ben comes back into the hallway to turn off the hall light but doesn't say anything to her still. She glances down into the hole where the handle used to be and, using the hall nightlight to her advantage, makes out Tyler's body. He's lying on his belly with his face buried in the pillow and his arms encircling it, squeezing tight. He looks like he's asleep.

Mal pushes the door open with her foot and steps inside. Not a movement comes from Tyler as she walks to the side of his bed, bends down, and kisses his forehead. He almost scares her senseless when he rolls back over, sits up, wipes his nose on the back of his sleeve, and then leans forward to kiss her cheek before lying back down.

"Goodnight, Tyler," she whispers, running a hand down his back before standing up.

"Night mom," he whispers, snuggling his face closer to hers. She starts to leave, but before she can get out the door, she hears: "I didn't mean what I meant. I'd be very sad if you died."

It's such a small comment, but it makes her eyes fill with tears all over again. She barely makes it out the door in time.

* * *

Mal's small family tumbles through the front doors, dropping everything as they go. Ben is already on the couch, finishing up some paperwork, but he'll be moving to their room or his office now that the boys are here. Mal trips over Tyler's shoes, uses her feet to push them aside, raises the jumble of bags she's carrying over Zach as he leans down to untie his laces, and drops everything behind the couch with an exhausted sigh. Ben shuts his laptop and stands up to kiss her. "Guess what I did," He smiles as he picks up a bag with milk and orange juice in it.

"What did you do?" Mal groans, struggling to work her swollen feet out of her shoes.

"I booked a family vacation for four and a baby on a cruise," he announces. Both boys look up.

"What's a cruise?" Tyler asks.

"We're going on a boat?" Zach demands.

"A boat!" Tyler claps his hands to his cheeks in surprise.

"When?" Mal asks, picking up a bag of fresh fruit and furrowing her brow. "I'm having the baby next month."

"Not until July," Ben assures her. "And yeah, I know that they'll only be two months old, but I thought that it might be fun to get out with Zach and Tyler before..." He trails off, giving her a meaningful nod. Mal sighs as Zach pulls his phone out of his pocket to plug in.

"Before what?" he calls, skimming notifications from games and the news app.

Mal sighs and takes a seat as Ben takes the small collection of groceries into their kitchenette. They still eat most meals with Ben's parents as served by the staff, but it's good to have snacks around now that the boys are getting older. "Well, when your essay-writing is better, Dad and I were going to see if you'd like to go take classes at Auradon Accelerated," she admits, rubbing her hands on her knees and clearing her throat so it doesn't feel as tight. "We'd probably book you for morning classes because Tyler is going to have after-school things. You'd have your classes all day while he does his things." Her second child is struggling with math, so he's staying after school for a half-hour to get help. A theatre program was looking for kids to audition for their summer season, and he auditioned and got a small part that gives him enough time to walk with a friend to the theatre from the school after tutoring. If he likes it, he might do the next season's shows too. If not, he'll keep going to dance after school even though some of his other friends have dropped the class and are moving on to things like music and karate and computer-gaming clubs.

"You'd still have to keep up the guitar," Ben calls from the other room, though Zach doesn't look too put-out at the prospect as he smiles and nods eagerly. It's been several years he's been taking it now, and while he's nowhere near a mastery level, he's extremely proficient after so many long hours of practice. "And if you want to do piano, we'd have to balance that too. But it's an option."

"You don't have to do a full schedule either," Mal cautions. "Remember, you have to sit in the class and listen to the teacher to learn everything. If it's too hard to sit for so long, then we'll take you out of it."

"What if I don't know enough?" Zach frowns, folding his arms as he considers everything.

"You might have to get some extra help," Ben replies, walking over and setting his hands on Mal's shoulders. "You might have to stay after to talk to the professor or use your phone to do some extra studying."

"But if it's too much, then we'll make you slow down," Mal says, reaching up to put a hand over Ben's.

"I think I might try." Zach puffs out his chest in determination. "I have a website that's helping me to write essays. If I practice, then I'll get good at it."

"Why don't you just stay home?" Tyler asks, rolling over the back of the couch and falling onto Mal and Zach. "That's what I would do if I were smarter than Ernie Sunshine."

"Who?" Mal asks.

"Albert Einstein," Zach corrects, pushing Tyler's head away from his. "He was a child genius like me. Except he went to school. I think he was very bored."

"Because he was smart?" Ben asks with a laugh while Zach nods solemnly.

"I'm not smart and school is still boring," Tyler yawns, rolling over his Mom's legs and then dropping to the floor. "Being smart is only fun if you don't have to go to school. Otherwise, it's just annoying. But either way, you're annoying if you're smart."

"We're going to be going to Motuni," Ben breaks in before an argument can start between the two boys. "Do you know who lives there?"

Hei-Hei!" Zach looks up with a mischievous grin on his face.

Tyler jumps up from the floor and flexes his biceps into the air. "Maui! he bellows.

"Moana," Mal deadpans. "She's the ruler of that kingdom. We were talking about Moana."

"But she's a girl," Tyler says, looking at them both in confusion. "I thought we were talking about boys."

Mal only sighs and shakes her head.

"Did you know that women were once forbidden to eat bananas in Motuni?" Zach asks as he reaches for his cell phone. "They also couldn't have pork or coconut."

"Coconut is gross," Tyler groans.

"That reminds me that we need to search your phone," Mal sighs. "We were supposed to do it yesterday before you went to bed and we forgot." She holds out her hand for the device and Zach puts it into her palm without a protest. He gets up and walks to the kitchen while Mal unlocks it and begins to skim his text messages.

"What are we gonna do in Motuni?" Zach asks Ben as he gets out a bunch of grapes. "Is this another work trip?"

"Nope," Ben replies, picking up his laptop and turning it around to show Zach. "We're going to go hiking and scuba diving and we're going to walk out in this bay area where you can see sunken ships. Mom's going to collect thousands of seashells for her art supplies and you boys and I are going to go fishing."

"Zach!" Mal snaps to a sitting position and turns to where her two oldest(Ben counts as someone she occasionally has to look after) are pouring over pictures of what their upcoming trip will look like. "Why were you searching for people getting pregnant?"

All of the color drains out of Ben's face. Zach shrugs. "I was wondering how you got the baby in you," he responds nonchalantly.

"Ben!" Mal holds the phone out to her husband with this very specific tone of voice. The tone of voice that says "You better fix this or I don't know what I'll do."

"What did you see?" Ben asks, taking the phone and searching through the history tabs. Zach, who suddenly realizes that he's about to get in trouble, sits down. Mal kicks Tyler's arm lightly with her toes and gestures for him to step out. He doesn't get the motion, so she takes him by the arm to the hall and whispers for him to stay out for a moment while they talk with Zach.

"I don't know?" Zach starts, trying to remember everything. "Most of the sites said the same things about waiting until ovulation and timing-"

"Zach!" Ben cuts him off, covering his forehead with one hand as he stares at Zach's phone in horror. "Why are you searching for this stuff?"

Mal looks over Ben's shoulders and immediately regrets it. Dozens of pornographic images are lined up on her son's cell phone screen. Ben scrolls by as fast as he can, but there's an entire page of them. More than that, when he hits the 'back' button on the browser, four more pages of other images are lined up after the first. Clearly, Zach did more than glance through them.

"Did I do something wrong?" Zach wonders, sinking into the couch and fidgeting. "I thought it was okay because the little block thing didn't come up."

"Why isn't he being blocked from these sites?" Mal snaps, wheeling around on Ben. "I thought the system we had would filter this out!"

"Most of these sites are medical sites," Ben responds, sitting down and looking a thousand years older as he catches himself up on what his son has been finding. "And these ones... I thought our filter would block these sites!"

"Which ones are the problem?" Zach asks, lip wobbling. "I've been reading some stuff for the last few days... most of it was at the library."

Ben sinks further into the couch, looking furious. He keeps scrolling. Most of the search bar history options make sense, but it was clicking on the 'related links' that led Zach to trouble. "How babies grow" turned slowly into "what happens during childbirth" before becoming "implantation and conception." Her baby wasn't meaning to stumble onto these sites, but he somehow ended up there anyway. Ben thumbs into Zach's settings and then to the internet browser. Mal seethes when she sees 'Block Adult Content' still enabled. Still not enough to keep everything away.

"It must have been the different WIFI network," Ben realizes under his breath. "I have the settings enabled from my phone... they must just block him from searching on our WIFI. Being at the library, he's not protected."

"Mom? Dad?" Zach calls and both parents finally look over at him. He sinks into the couch, looking ashamed, and his lower lip sticks out as he begs forgiveness with his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whines.

Mal lets out a breath. "It's okay," she murmurs, glancing at Ben as he pulls out his phone and starts researching for a different filter they can use. "It's not your fault."

"But," she thinks, "you're probably going to have lots of questions now. Questions I don't want to answer."

"Zach," Ben says, patting the seat next to him and then scooting over so there is room for Mal to sit on the end as well. Zach walks over and sits in the middle of them as Ben begins to type in the web addresses that Zach's been searching into a list of blocked websites his phone won't let him go on now. "Why did we let you have the phone?"

"So I could look up things that confused me and call you and mom," Zach responds, leaning into Ben's arm and watching his search history vanish as Ben deletes things, adding them to the blocked sites list.

"And so why would we put filters on your phone if we wanted you to be able to learn things?" Ben asks as he finishes and sets the cell phone down on the coffee table.

"So that I didn't see any blood or guts or scary things," Zach says.

"And?" Ben prompts.

"Bad things." Zach shrugs, glancing over to her for affirmation.

"That's right," Ben agrees, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. "We don't let you look up things with blood and violence because we don't want you to have nightmares, and also because we don't want you to think it's okay to act like that. We don't let you buy things without permission because we don't want you to buy something dangerous to you. We don't let you spend too much time on your games because we know it's not good for your head and eyes to be staring at a screen all the time. Do you agree with all that?"

Zach nods and Ben takes a moment to put an arm around his son. "The things you were looking at aren't good for you yet. Adults don't usually tell kids all about them because we don't want to confuse or hurt you. If you had asked Mom and me, then we could have told you something that would have been easy to understand and that could have answered your questions. The internet doesn't know that you're an eight-year-old kid. It doesn't know how much to tell you."

"You would have lied?" Zach asks, furrowing his brow.

"No," Mal refutes. "It's a little bit like how Dad didn't tell you all about my scars. Some of the stories scare him, and they would have scared you. We're going to wait until you're a little older to tell you everything, but we'll tell you the basics because you asked."

"So, not lying, but still not being honest," Zach crosses his arms.

"No, it is honest. But it's also careful," Ben says. "Zach, did you talk to Tyler about how your day was today?"

"I said it was good," Zach shrugged.

"But you didn't tell him everything!" Mal blurts out, catching on to where Ben is going with this exercise. "You didn't tell him all the books you read or how guitar lessons were or about how many times you went to the bathroom or to go get a drink..."

"It didn't matter," Zach's face twists in annoyance. He doesn't like how he feels like he's the bad guy here.

"Exactly. He would have gotten bored or confused or started talking to you too much about it," Mal says. "And it's the same way. If we tell you everything, you'll get confused or you won't understand what we're trying to say. That's why we're keeping everything in small answers on this subject."

"Why is it so bad?" Zach asks, deflating like a popped balloon. "I was just trying to figure out how the baby got into Mom." He glares at Mal's belly as if it's what's caused the issue.

"That's not all that bad," Ben sighs, treading carefully as he tries to figure out what he wants to say. "But... there is a problem when you start reading about how people get pregnant and start looking at pictures. For one," Ben holds out a finger, "we wouldn't want you to try making a baby with anyone, though I think you're smart enough to realize why that's a bad idea. For two," another finger goes out, "we don't want you sharing that information with friends who aren't ready to understand it. Three, lots of studies have been done, and they say that looking at those bad pictures can do lots of things to your brain. For example, it can lead to low self-esteem and can hurt your relationships with other people."

"Dad just doesn't like them," Mal cuts Ben off. "You stumbled on one of the things he hates the most."

"I do hate them!" Ben snaps at her. "They're... self-indulgent! They encourage you to see other people as objects, not as people. It's a representation of lack of class and discipline and respect! Especially towards women!" He pauses to readdress Zach, who is looking between them in confusion. "Listen, I'm going to tell you now that it's not okay to treat other people the way they're treated in those... comics. Or pictures. Whatever."

"Ben, he's seven," Mal says, putting a hand on Ben's arm. "Calm down."

"It is never too early to teach children about how to respect other people," Ben refutes her, getting up and walking aimlessly around the coffee table. "Zach, what did you see?"

Zach shrugs, cheeks going a bit red. "Not too much," he mumbles. Mal notices, though, the way he's suddenly avoiding looking at either of them and it makes her stomach turn. "I mostly just read stuff and tried to look around the pictures for words."

"Read stuff like what?" Ben gets down on eye level with Zach. "Did it look like a science book or like a story?"

Slowly, Ben begins to tug information out of their disobliging son. He describes at first things he read about where Mom's baby is in her belly and when heartbeats first start and things like that. Then he starts admitting about how people put babies inside themselves and how to increase and decrease that risk and by the time he's gotten around to trying to explain the pictures he was looking at from his innocent seven-year-old perspective, Mal is convinced that the cell phone lying on the coffee table has ruined her baby forever. Ben doesn't seem as concerned as she is, but he didn't grow up on the Isle of the Lost where people were taken advantage of and parents let other villains into their children's bedrooms and...

Oh, wait.

This is another cultural difference, isn't it?

"Okay, bud," Ben sighs when Zach is finished. "From now on, I'd rather you ask Mom and I questions about babies and love and things that are right and wrong. The internet knows a lot, but it doesn't know what you need to know. Mom and I do, so come to us first." He sighs and looks at Mal, emotionally exhausted. "I don't think we have a lot of time left, Mal," He whispers.

Mal slumps when she realizes what he means. Oh. Her baby is growing up even faster than she thought he was. Giving him the phone... he's already halfway to independence.

What's school going to do to him?

Ben turns back to Zach. "You may not have your phone until Mom and Dad set up a new filter that will keep you safe," he whispers, and Zach nods and sighs in frustration. "Do you have any questions about anything we talked about or what you saw?"

Zach shifts back and forth and nods. "A few," he agrees. "I wrote them in my notebook."

Of course he did. Of course he would take notes. Of course. Mal feels like slapping herself. Ben, too, sighs. "You should go get them," he whispers. "Go get them, but let's talk in your room so that Tyler doesn't have to keep waiting in the hall." He glances up at Mal. "Does Mom want to be included in this conversation?" he asks.

Mal immediately shakes her head. "No," she backs off. "No. You handle it. Just... don't go too deep."

Ben nods and Zach gets up and goes to pull his notebook out of his bag. Ben squeezes her hand once and kisses her cheek before the two head out of the room with Ben's hand spread out between Zach's shoulder blades. Mal doesn't quite know what to do after that since Tyler has long since gone to play with his action figures in his room. So goes and curls up with the comforter on their bed while the sky grows darker outside and waits for Ben to sneak back in.

He does, right as the sky is getting dark, and whispers something about how the boys went down to dinner before lying down next to her and wrapping his arms around the comforter and her in a hug that his arms almost aren't long enough for.

"He okay?" Mal asks. Ben nods against her shoulder.

"He knows a lot of crude words now."

"Are we horrible parents for talking to him about this before he's even eight?"

"Better that he hears it from us than the internet or kids at school."

Mal breathes against the pillows and closes her eyes. Another reason to be afraid of Zach going to college.

* * *

"Did you know that more people have died in childbirth than in war?" Zach asks, combing his fingertips through Mal's hair as she sits on the couch, breathing slowly, nursing a glass of water as Ben grabs the last few items they'll need from the hospital.

"Zach, baby," Mal takes a deep breath and forces a smile. "That's not very helpful to Mom right now."

"Mom's gonna die?" Tyler exclaims from where he's sitting on the floor. One of his Li Shang action figures is riding his battered, abused, dirty dragon from Christmastime.

"No, Tyler," Zach rolls his eyes. "Mom's tough. And she's already done this twice before, so she's an expert."

Mal starts laughing, despite herself. She could have twenty kids and still not be an expert on this bullcrap.

"Done!" Ben announces from the doorway, swinging a bag over his shoulder. He rushes over to help Mal off of the couch. "Grandpa Hades is on his way. Until then, one of the servants are going to be supervising."

"Can I go?" Tyler shouts, jumping to his feet and tugging at Ben's shirt.

Ben pushes his hands away with a sigh. "Absolutely not," he declines firmly.

"But I want to see them take the baby out of mom!" Tyler howls. "I wanna make sure it's a boy!"

"You can see if they're a boy or girl when we bring the baby back here," Ben tells him.

Zach stands up. "Can I go?" He asks, quieter.

Ben huffs and begins to repeat himself before glancing at Mal. "I don't know," he huffs. "Can he?"

"I won't run around or make any noise!" Zach pleads as Tyler begins to squawk in protest. "I have my book and my phone and a charger cord. I'll sit in the waiting room and I won't make any noise or go anywhere without you knowing, I swear!"

"Can he be in the waiting room alone?" Mal asks Ben anxiously. This is, after all, the Crown Prince.

Ben shakes his head. "Sorry, bud," he pats Zach on the head. "We'd have to bring guards to watch you and it'll take another thirty minutes to get two up here."

Zach pouts. "Than can I follow you there?" he asks.

"I think you better wait here," Mal tells him. "Take care of Tyler for us and be nice to Grandpa. We'll be back soon." She kisses both complaining boys on the forehead as the door opens and Chip appears, panting. Ben begins to fill him in on how far out Hades is and what the family TV passcode is and where the snacks can be found.

"It better be a boy," Tyler snarls, poking Mal's stomach with a dirty look.

"So long as it's not a boy like you," Zach rolls his eyes. He begrudgingly gives Mal another hug. "Did you know that the first time a woman has a baby, her hips have to snap in two to let the baby's head through?"

"I could've told you that," Mal huffs in annoyance, "but it's still not helpful."

"I wasn't trying to be helpful," Zach says crossly as he takes a crosslegged seat on the armchair and pulls out his book. Mal frowns at him and grits her teeth. He's been in a... mood all week and it's starting to grate on her. Ben just says it's because his legs are sore from the growth spurt he's going through and also because Ben and Mal have been rather busy with last-minute prep of the baby and arranging for summer camps for Tyler. In short, he's feeling cranky, sore, and neglected. Which Mal, unfortunately, does not have time to address right now.

"Mal?" Ben calls from the door. He picks up their bag again and waits as she kisses Tyler's head one more time and then heads over to the door.

Zach kicks his legs up over the back of the chair and twists so his hair is falling over the seat of the chair. He cracks open his book, as he's still sitting upside down, and starts reading as Mal quickly thanks Chip and reassures him that Hades shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes away at this point. "Did you know that one out of every thousand babies are accidentally switched at birth? Or that you lose about a half-a-quart of blood during childbirth? Or that-"

"Zachary!" Mal finally snaps, balling her fists up and spinning around to pin her oldest underneath her gaze. Zach falls silent and looks away with more red tones in his cheeks.

Tyler pokes Zach's arm. "Who's the trouble-maker now?" He sneers. Zach shoves his hand away, and Tyler huffs so hard that smoke curls out of his mouth.

"Boys," Ben calls from the door and gives them both a stern look. "Be good, or you'll hear from us when we get home."

They shut the door behind them and then everything is a rush. A rush to the hospital, a rush to get checked in, and a rush with occasional pauses until it's late at night and they're finally making their way back up to their home in the palace.

In the living room, the television is rolling and Zach sits with his head against the coffee table, watching a game show that involves lots of random trivia. Hades and Tyler are curled up together on the couch, reading a book by the light of Hades's hair. Ben opens the door softly and then shuts it with a thud, causing all three to snap over.

"Mom!" Tyler shoves the book and the blanket he was cuddled under away from him and then scrambles to the floor as Zach rubs his eyes and yawns. He gets to his feet as Tyler barrels into Mal and squeezes her legs tightly. "You're back! Grandpa said we could wait up for you."

Ben sighs and sets the baby carrier down by the door. "Well, it's too late to ask Grandpa to send you to bed, but you still have to get up for school tomorrow." He ruffles Tyler's hair and then lifts the carrier's cover to unbuckle the new baby.

"I will. Where is he? Is he asleep? Did he cry a lot?" Tyler crowds over Ben's shoulder as Ben sighs and pushes the button to push the handle out of the way.

"Shh," Mal hums, running her fingers through Tyler's hair. "Not so loud, Beastie. Now listen, I know you wanted a baby brother, but it didn't quite work out like that. This is your baby sister."

"A girl?" Hades asks with a smile, getting to his feet as Ben lifts the little one out of her carrier to show off. "About time. Does she have purple hair?"

"She doesn't have any hair," Ben laughs and holds her forward to show Tyler.

Tyler crosses his arms and pouts. "I wanted a boy!" He whines. "Mom, I told you to have a boy!"

Mal shrugs hopelessly. "It just didn't work out like that, Beastie," she whispers and kisses his cheek. "But you're going to be a good older brother to her, right?"

"I don't think so," Tyler shakes his head. "Not if she cries a lot or likes dresses or if she's a smart aleck like Zach."

"What's her name?" Zach asks, stretching his arms a little as he walks over to them.

"She doesn't have a name yet," Ben whispers. "We have a few ideas but we weren't sure." He pats the ground next to him and nods to Tyler. "Tyler, if you sit down, we'll let you hold her before you go to bed."

Tyler wrinkles his nose up and turns away on his heel, looking much like Mal does when she decides she doesn't like something. "No thanks!" He exclaims. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." With one last hug to Mal's legs and a hug for Grandpa Hades, he ignores Ben and the new baby and walks away. Ben can't keep in his sigh of exasperation as Hades laughs.

Zach peers cautiously around his grandfather as Hades walks up to examine his daughter's latest offspring and give her a comforting hug. She looks about ready to fall asleep for a thousand years. "She looks good," he congratulates her with a kiss to her temple. "I could do without all of him-" he gestures to Ben with a teasing smile "mixed up with her face, but she looks good enough." Mal laughs. The baby girl has her face shape, but her features are Ben's. Ben's round eyes and softer nose and the corners of her mouth turned up naturally into a smile as his do. Ben's detached ears and sure, she does have Mal's cheekbones, but then Ben's chin and Ben's rounded forehead, just like on Tyler's face.

Ben watches Zach creep up closer and laughs. "You can come see her, Zach," he invites. "You don't remember us bringing Tyler home, huh?'

Zach shakes his head and takes four more steps forward so he can lean down and examine the baby girl. His mouth falls open a little. "Oh," He whispers and then sits down on his knees beside Ben. "She's tiny."

"She is," Mal yawns. "You were point two ounces smaller, though. Tyler was the biggest out of all of you."

"It's because of all that empty space in his head," Zach dismisses casually, not ripping his eyes off of the newcomer. Mal claps a hand over her mouth as Hades lets out a guffaw. It's been a long time since she heard someone get roasted that badly.

"Do you want to hold her?" Ben asks softly. Zach nods eagerly. Ben demonstrates briefly how to balance her head and then sets her into Zach's lap for him to further examine. Zach looks both terrified and amazed as she settles into his hands with half of her body on his lap. Ben waits to make sure Zach's got a good hold of her and then fishes for his phone to take a few photos. Hades ignites his hair even further to help light Zach up enough to get a clear shot.

"Oh shoot," Zach whispers, still staring down at his sister.

"What's that, sweetheart?" Mal asks, leaning down a little to hear.

Zach looks back up at her with a terrified expression. "This is gonna be hard!" he exclaims. "She's too small to take care of herself! What're we gonna do if she gets hurt?"

Mal laughs again. "Well, baby, that's why she has us. We're here to protect her until she can take care of herself." She kneels to trace the baby's features with her fingertips.

"No, mom, you don't understand!" Zach protests. "She has to grow up and get friends and do things she likes but I don't want her to! She's gonna get hurt!"

Ben snorts and Hades shakes his head. Mal nods with pinched lips as she tries to contemplate a response. "Well, everyone has to grow up," she sighs a little, glancing at her husband as he gives her this little "Ha-ha, I-told-you-so" look. "Now you know a little how I feel about you."

Mal holds her hands out, offering to take the baby back from Zach, but he jumps back and a tiny, feral growl escapes his throat. Mal withdraws, holding her hands up, and leaves little seven-year-old Zach to marvel at his sister on the floor. Ben pulls her into an embrace as soon as she's back on her feet. "At least he likes her," he chuckles.

"What names were you thinking?" Hades asks, crossing his arms as he waits patiently for his turn to hold the baby.

Mal yawns and then begins listing on her fingers. "Collette, Avery, Charlotte, Olivia, Claire..."

"I still like Belle," Ben whispers aloud. "I think she looks like a Belle."

"I don't know if I want to have two people in the family named Belle, though," Mal grumbles. "Maybe as a middle name. We were also thinking Marie..."

She trails off, trying to remember her list, and closes her eyes as she leans further into Ben. The only sound is the crackling of Hades's hair and Zach's tiny whispers as he speaks to the newborn in his lap. Mal puts a hand up to rest against the back of Ben's neck, where she runs it through his hair carelessly until she hears Ben snort and focuses more on what her baby is saying to little Fae.

"... big brother. I'm the cool one - you don't need to worry about Tyler. He's crazy. Dad says he'll mellow out. Wow, you're so little, Belle. I have books that are bigger than you!" He puts his finger in Fae's tight grasp. "Hello, Belle. I'm sorry for all the crazy you've had to listen to lately. I swear most of it was Tyler. Hopefully it was pretty quiet inside of mom. Hopefully you don't mind noise too much because Tyler can be pretty wild. Hello, Belle..."

"Baby," Mal calls, opening her eyes back up to raise an eyebrow at Zach. "We haven't named her yet."

Zach glances up cautiously through his bangs and then looks back down at the baby. "Well, I'm gonna call her Belle for now, and maybe if you don't name her Belle then I'll change it."

Ben bursts into laughter, kisses Mal's neck for a second, and then lets her go. Hades chuckles in laughter. "Like it or not, Malie, I think you have a Belle in your family."


	29. Mommy Grew Up Different pt3

Zach's writing slowly climbs to a middle-school level. He doesn't struggle with word choice or sentence fluency, but he's used to quick answers and writing only short notes to help him remember things. It takes him a while to grasp the idea that he has to explain himself to someone on paper. His handwriting isn't the best either. Ben gets him a letter book to practice forming letters in, but he hates it so vehemently that Mal doesn't even protest when he runs it through the shredder the second week.

"I already know what letters look like!" He snaps at Ben when Ben asks what his alternative will be. "I don't like learning over and over again!"

Impatience, Mal thinks, might be Zach's fatal flaw. He utterly hates anything that can't be immediately memorized and applied. Practicing things is of the devil, as far as he's concerned. Still, he's got to learn to write legibly, and if he won't do it the way Ben learned, then they've got to figure out something to help him. Mal suggests art classes. If he can control a brush or a pencil, her reasoning is, he shouldn't have a problem with lettering. However, Zach responds to that proposal with so much hate that she immediately backs down. Zach likes art, but he hates trying to make it. Dozens of Christmas coloring books have been buried or burned or thrown away under his care. Crayons and markers are only useful when pens and pencils are scarce. In his opinion, restaurant kids menus waste too much space with pictures and should devote more paper to riddles, trivia, and word searches. Her son thinks in words, and not pictures.

In the end, Mal comes up with a solution. They purchase a composition notebook, sit Zach down at the table every night, and have him write two front-and-back pages about his day. It turns out to be very therapeutic for him - the first few pages spew insults and rants about how awful his parents are for doing this to him and how much his hand hurts, and then once his hand gets used to the motions he's able to convey his frustration about his brother and his parents and his sister in a much more effective manner. On the night summer begins for kids in Auradon, Mal reads to Tyler on the couch while Zach fills five pages straight at the bar, ranting about how Tyler smashed a soda can on the ground and caused it to blow up everywhere before going straight into talking about how he's annoyed at his guitar classmates because all they can talk about is how school is getting out. His handwriting is becoming more consistent, but it's big, so Mal improvises a new strategy. The following night, she tapes off the back portion of Zach's book and tells him to only write two pages, front-and-back. There's a small tantrum and a few scathing remarks, and then his handwriting goes from covering two lines to having two neat lines fitting inside of one line. His handwriting is smaller than Ben's, and that's saying something. She doesn't comment when he requests sticky notes from Ben and continues filling the book with his thoughts about his day in shades of blue and yellow.

Eventually, Mal doesn't even have to remind him that he has to do some writing because his composition book sits in his room on his headboard with his dictionary and textbooks. She lifts the ban on using more than two pages and Zach takes advantage of the added space by letting his handwriting get a bit bigger to fill the lines properly. The last exercise she makes him do before letting habit take over entirely is to set a timer for twenty minutes and tell him that he has to write to fill the time, not the pages. It's the final thing that tips Zach's handwriting from legible to acceptable. Now that he's tapping his pencil along to the seconds and not caring about how many pages he can fill with his seven-year-old rage, he's taking the time to make little embellishments on his handwriting and takes care to have it stretch evenly across the page. It's not glorious, but it's understandable and neat. It's also good for Zach to have something he can fill with his thoughts on his family and his studies without fear of Mom and Dad picking it up and examining it. Mal feels a little like a genius when she notices that the more he spews out his frustrations on paper, the less annoyed he is the next day.

Once he's managed to grasp the concept of "you need to explain your ideas to other people, not just spit out random facts", his essay writing improves ten-fold. There are usually ten or so different places where he has to go back and re-write a part that doesn't fit into his thesis, so he's not perfect, but it is certainly an improvement. And it's just enough for Mr. Jensen to agree to let him sit in on Mathematics 1010 and Biology 1010 at Auradon Prep. If he handles it well, they'll add him to classes in the Winter semester. His student ID arrives a week before they leave on their trip to Motuni. Mal can barely see through her tears as she snaps a picture, but she passes it off as happy tears to Zach and holds off the worst of it until she's alone with Ben.

Zach gets new textbooks, but Ben makes him leave them behind for the week they're gone from the palace. "You will disengage," he says slowly as he locks them into the family safe. "You will not go and hide in a book, Zach. You need to be present and in the moment. We're going to take lots of photos and go look at lots of different places and I don't want you staring at a book the entire way there and back."

He does get to bring Ben's old laptop and his composition notebook as compensation. The notebook loses a considerable amount of pages during the plane ride when Zach starts watching a little kid's spelling and math show on one side of him and Baby Belle begins to cry on his other side. Mal has to scoot past Zach to walk around the plane with Belle and she budges his extra pens onto the floor as she tries to quell the crying. Other passengers glance at her, do a double-take at the purple hair, and Zach's in-use pen flies more furiously across the page with every whisper of "Queen Mal?"

Ben finally offers him a pair of headphones, but the thing about Zach is he doesn't appreciate much music outside of guitar and instrumental, while Ben prefers current pop bops. The poor kid is about to kill someone or break something by the time they finally land.

They have to wait until everyone else disembarks because of security. When Tyler's show ends and a new one starts with its catchy, silly intro music, Zach slams his head into the chair in front of him and lets out a feral growl of frustration.

Mal begins to wonder if they're going to survive this trip.

* * *

The thing about the boys is that they've always had their separate spaces. Zach's room is Zach's and Tyler's room is Tyler's and the boys have their specific seats in the car and their belongings and spaces and everything is separate. And on the ship, it's not like that. Ben and Mal keep Little Belle in one room, but the boys share the next room over. At first, it's exciting for them. Zach wants the bottom bunk because there's a lamp beside his pillow. Tyler wants the top bunk because it's higher up. Zach wants the desk all to himself. Tyler wants the TV. Zach gets the high shelves in the dresser. Tyler gets the lower ones. There is a division of space.

She should have known it was too good to last.

Ben is out taking a phone call on the deck when she hears a thump'n'crash from the next wall over. She hurries to put Belle into the portable crib without waking her up and by the time she makes it into the wall, there is screaming coming from the boys' room. The door is unlocked, so she opens it and steps into a war scene.

"I told you not to jump!" Zach howls in a tone so loud that Mal's eardrums threaten to burst. The left side of his forehead is bleeding and the top bunk bed, which was screwed into the wall, is lying on Zach's bed. His face is all purple as he shouts at a crying, stunned Tyler. "I told you no and you didn't listen, you idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot!" Tyler yells right back. Green light fills his eyes. "You're just a stupid, smart-aleck bully!"

"At least I don't break everything I touch!"

"At least I don't make momma cry!"

"You make mom cry all the time because you're insensitive and blind!"

"Well, at least I'm normal!"

"What on earth?" Mal interrupts from the doorway. Neither boys notice her.

"Maybe if you could calm down for once then this wouldn't happen!" Zach yells in this deep, throaty voice that sounds like a growl as tears stream down his face. Could she be imagining it, or do the sides of his face seem darker the angrier he gets?

"Mind your own business, you rat!" Tyler howls back with purple smoke curling out of his nostrils. "Go back to not talking to anyone because no one wants to talk to you anyway!"

Zach lets out a deep, vicious growl and Tyler screeches right back at him. A fountain of flames spills forth from Tyler's mouth. Mal panics. "No!" She shouts, jumping forward and shoving Zach and Tyler apart as green flames catch on the floor and on Zach's shirt. Mal stomps out the flames on the ground and tries to brush away the fire on Zach's shirt but he wrenches himself away from her and takes a swipe at Tyler. His fingernails aren't there anymore – they're claws and they leave three cuts across Tyler's face before he throws himself to the ground and starts sobbing and thrashing around in a complete meltdown.

The fire alarms go off. The floor is on fire; the beds are on fire; Zach is on fire. He howls and claws at himself and Mal grabs him by the neck as his shirt starts to rip open and burn away at the same time. Horns are curling out of his head and his knuckles are becoming horribly knobby and crooked as she shoves him into the bathroom shower and turns the cold water on full blast.

Purple smoke is still emanating from Tyler on the floor and Mal catches on too late, distracted as she is with trying to contain the bedroom fire with her powers as Zach collapses under the cold shower wall, sobbing. His face is longer and deformed, but he seems to be going back to normal or at least not morphing any further. Tyler sneezes, and his body explodes into a new form. A tiny purple dragon is now writing on the floor, spewing green flames as he thrashes about.

"No!" Mal shouts though yelling isn't doing much good. Tyler flaps clumsy, frail wings and rolls onto his back accidentally, coughing up green flames and sounding a lot like a dying chicken. Fire singes Mal's heels, and she hears people running down the hall to her. Cruise ship attendants appear and their mouths fall open at the dragon on the ground and the sparse fires everywhere. Mal makes a split-second decision and grabs the first part of Tyler she can touch before he writhes away from her. It turns out to be his tail, which she uses to pull him, squawking and crying, into the shower beside Zach. Zach hisses when he sees him, but Mal claps her hands in front of her oldest and Zach flinches away from the noise miserably. She slams the door to the bathroom before the attendants can see Zach and then turns to extinguish the flames before finally taking a deep breath to try and explain all of this to them.

The baby is crying next door. Where is Ben?

"Hi," Mal coughs a little. Her voice is hoarse now. "I'm so sorry about the chaos." She waves her hand at the fire alarm a little helplessly and it turns off without much prompting. Thank goodness. "The boys… they got into a fight… I can fix most things and we'll pay for what I can't fix."

"Was that a dragon?" One of the attendants asks, looking white even though he has darker skin and tan lines.

Mal winces. "Yes, uh, he should be fine in a moment. I'll help him as soon as you all leave… do you happen to have a screwdriver?"

"A screwdriver?" A girl with a braided bun squeaks. "Is he going to eat it?"

"Ah, no," Mal shakes her head and takes a few steps further into the room to put a hand on the fallen bed. "I just… the screws came out of the wall and I was hoping to screw them back in?"

The first man looks around, shell shocked, and runs a hand down his face. "Perhaps we should simply… move you into a different room?" He asks feebly. "You may fix this one if you like, but, uh, it might be easier to simply move everything."

Mal smiles a tight little smile. "My husband is on the deck," she explains through her teeth. "I'd like to discuss it with him when he gets back. Now, could you please leave, so I can attend to my children?"

"W-would you be requiring anything?" The man stammers out.

"Some hydrogen peroxide would be lovely," Mal forces a smile and then steps out into the hall. Belle is crying even louder now and others in the hall are exchanging odd looks and looking down to where the commotion was. She quickly scoops up Belle, but Belle only starts to cry even louder as she's jostled into her mom's arms. Mal locks her door behind her. The attendants stand, stone still, outside the boy's door. From down the hall, Mal sees the tall, steady figure of her husband appear from the stairwell. He heads down, pauses when he sees everyone standing outside their doors, and then walks faster as Mal hovers in the doorway of the boys' room, trying to quell the distraught baby.

"Is everything okay?" Ben asks, glancing between everyone's faces. He peers into the room and his mouth falls open. "Oh, dear…"

"Thank you," Mal addresses the attendants and gestures him in. He steps over the threshold and Mal finally gets to close the door.

"What happened?" He gasps as she shoves the baby into his hands and storms over to the window to start letting the smoke out before the alarms go off again.

"The boys fought," Mal responds briefly. She opens the door to the bathroom and shuts off the water to the shower before Ben sees their two young charges. He lets out a ragged, shaky breath. The only thing holding them both together is all the crazy experiences they had as teens together.

Zach has the nose of a cat in a dark shade of pink, like a baby lion. Tiny horns are peeping out of his shaggy locks and his hands are gnarled paws with long claws attached. He has red marks like sunburns on his neck and chest. His button-down shirt has been ripped open and the remnants of hair stretch down his torso, visible through the rips. It's his appearance that has Ben about ready to hyperventilate, despite the fact he doesn't look as bad as he did before and his normal features are quickly returning.

Tyler's body shape has returned to normal. He looks wiped out as he leans, exhausted, against the shower tiles opposite Zach. His hands are curved talons with four fingers each. Dragon skin still stretches down the left side of his face and when he breathes, smoke curls out from his lips. The cuts on the right side of his face are still bleeding, but he doesn't seem that hurt now that he's wasted all that energy in dragon form.

Mal wets a rag hanging on the wall, rubs a bar of soap against it, and starts cleaning Tyler's cheek off. He whines as she does so and then curls up with his head on her leg as she treats the cuts. He's not burned. Like her, he must be resistant to his own flames.

"Well, Beastie," Mal sighs, pulling Tyler's cheek down so she can clean the cuts out, "Maybe you'll have your own marks like Mom's after this."

Tyler whines and pulls his face away as the soap stings the flesh of his cheek. He struggles to sit up and peer into the mirror before falling back down beside her. "I don't like them," He mumbles, and curls his face away into her belly.

"Zach?" Mal calls softly. "Are you hurt?"

Zach lifts his arms, feels his face, and shakes his head. "I just bit my tongue," he mutters angrily and then distracts himself by pressing on his nose to feel the shape of it while his fingers slowly return to normal.

Mal nods and glances up at Ben, who's managed to calm Belle down. She flicks on the bathroom fan with a sigh. "Ben, please get them some new clothes," she requests and reaches down to start tugging Tyler's light-up sneakers off of him. He moans a little, but she manages to get his socks and shoes off before Ben starts tossing things her way. The dragon skin on his face is fading.

First one child, and then the other, is undressed, dried off, and fixed up. Mal has Ben take them into their bedroom to rest while she tries to figure out what to do about the room. Zach has burns on his upper body and Tyler's cuts go almost all the way through his cheek, but they're both asleep now, so she'll have to deal with their complaints later.

"What happened?" Ben asks as they work together to heave Tyler's collapsed bed off of Zach's. Books have been crushed between the two, but they all look okay.

"Tyler was jumping on the bed and I think it caught Zach on the way down," Mal mumbles tiredly. "Your son has some very cruel insults in him."

"Which one?"

"Both."

They manage to reattach the bed to the wall and Mal starts pulling off singed, bloody sheets. She's not sure what to do with them. Ben lifts the books off of Zach's bed with pinched lips. "Do these look familiar?" He asks Mal.

Mal squints. They're textbooks, not uncommon of Zach, but specifically, they're the new ones that Ben locked in the safe before they left home. Beside them is Zach's well-loved composition notebook. Mal is suddenly understanding why her son chose the route of screaming at his brother instead of just sighing and coming to get her. "How'd he get those?" She asks.

Ben shakes his head. He doesn't look happy, to say the least. "I don't know," He responds. "You're sure he doesn't have magic?"

Mal gestures around the room. "After this? I'm positive."

* * *

Burn cream, hydrogen peroxide, and nail clippers all go on their expense list for their trip.

At dinner, two equally annoyed but still respectful princes sit side-by-side by each other. No more mottled skin, no more twisted hands.

"Zach, how did you open the safe?" Ben asks, not looking up from his menu as he shows Tyler what he's allowed to order.

Zach flushes. None of them need to ask what he got out or how Ben knows. Even Tyler isn't surprised – he must have been keeping the secret with Zach. "I know the code," he admits, sliding into his chair with the tips of his ears red.

"How?" Ben flicks his eyes up to examine his oldest.

Zach's ears turn completely red. "I saw you punch it in on my phone." He's referring to the restrictions passcode. Ben recently learned you can keep kids from clearing their history and while they trust Zach (a lot less after today but still) he decided it'd be a good precaution to take.

"Hm," Ben hums and glances over at Mal, who rolls her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't know about you but I think I could use some wine right now."

"If you get drunk, you're sleeping with the boys and supervising."

* * *

Zach turns eight. They survive the rest of their family trip and manage to have some fun on the beaches together. Mal fills a section of hers and Ben's suitcase with shells that she plans to decorate a frame with when they get home. School restarts a month later and Zach enters college while Tyler begins the wonderful world of the second grade.

Zach's first four classes in either subject are difficult until he figures out what subjects everyone else already knows and finds a book to fill him in on it all. Then, once he knows the subject matter, he's back to downloading everything the teacher mentions into his brain. His first tests come back all nineties and ninety-fives. So that's that. Mal has an eight-year-old who is acing college and no, she's not bitter about it at all.

She just really has to fight the urge to set the school on fire.

Tyler is acting now with the children's theatre program. The opening show for this season is Julius Caesar, which Mal had no idea could be adapted for children, but the closing show is Beauty and the Beast and Tyler has his heart set on being Grandpa Adam. Math is still hard for him, but sometimes he and Zach will sit at the bar table so Zach can help him and that helps keep them from fighting. Sometimes, after school, they'll sit at the bar working on homework together while Mal pulls out snacks. Belle will be sitting on the floor all by herself, bopping her head along to whatever beat is playing and switching her hair color from purple to dirty blonde. She must have some sort of magic in her but hasn't done much besides switching back and forth between looking like Ben or looking like Mal. Hades thinks it's something called a Split-Gene disorder, where Ben and Mal's chromosomes didn't cross over correctly due to her being a fairy and him being a human. Therefore, she has the ability to switch back and forth between looking like Parent A or Parent B. Zach supports this theory, but Mal doesn't quite understand it. The other alternative is that she has the ability to change her appearance at will but only chooses to mimic her parents(and possibly Zach and Tyler, but who could tell) because that's who she's around the most.

School is in session for about two and a half months and nothing interesting happens except for when Zach brings home a few papers from his professors asking to test him out and move him into more advanced classes and also asking if he'd like to sign on for more classes at the semester change. He signs on for chemistry and physics and Trigonometry and Statistics. He asks Mal if he can take Calculus alongside all the others but they both agree he shouldn't push himself too hard. He also signs on for his first English class with the college, which he's a bit nervous for since essay-writing is still a small struggle for him. He hasn't had all the training that the other students have. So he starts staying after to work with the librarian in the college and that helps him feel a little more secure.

On October the third, Mal is in a meeting with the council. This is one of the few meetings she gets to attend with Ben, and she's rather enjoying the feel of his hand atop hers when her cell phone dings and rings against the table, drawing all conversation to a halt.

"Sorry," Mal blushes as she reaches for the beeping object. "I must have forgotten to silence it." She flips it over to reach for the end call button, and then pauses and narrows her eyes suspiciously at the contact.

"Who is it?" Ben asks, nudging her and glancing over her shoulder. Mal holds up a finger.

"Sorry, I need to take this real quick," She mumbles and slides the dial to accept the call. "Hello? This is Mal?" Ben gives her an incredulous look. Everyone else exchanges miffed looks. It's quite rude for the hostess to be taking a cell phone when Audrey of Auroria was so carefully trying to explain about climate changes in her kingdom.

"Mal?" Ben raises his hand to the phone at her ear to try and draw it away, signaling her to head outside to take the call or end it.

Mal gestures with her finger at him even more firmly. "Yes?" She asks in a low and dangerous tone that makes a few royals take their hands off the table. Ben continues trying to catch her gaze up until her eyes flash like lightning and smoke starts to drift out of her hair. The royals surrounding them jump up out of their seats and withdraw from around her. "Is he still there?" She asks, lowering her tone and squinting at the grains in the table carefully.

"Who is it?" Ben whispers urgently. "What's going on?"

"Give him the phone," Mal commands through gritted teeth before she begins packing up all her notes, her pens, and the papers needed for the rest of the meeting. Ben watches in confusion until she starts hissing into the phone again, and then his blood goes a little cold. "Tyler James, I will be there in a half-hour unless God is really liking you today. Don't you dare move from that chair until I walk through those doors."

Ben backs off. He backs far off.

"No, no," Mal snaps over the sounds of someone crying on the other end. "You may ask your father for grace when you get home but not even the law can protect you from me, young men." She snaps her fingers towards Ben to indicate she's talking to him now as she gets up from her chair. "Ben, cover this all for me."

"Are you going to go get him? Is he hurt?" Ben asks, starting to get to his feet. Mal gestures at him to sit down.

"No, no he's not hurt. Yet." The last word she hisses into her phone and Ben hears Tyler crying on the other end of the line. "He's coming straight home." She hangs up without even a goodbye and shoves her chair back under the table with a screech and a thud.

"Is he in trouble?" Ben asks as she walks away.

"Big trouble," Mal affirms. "Hope you feel like playing the good parent tonight, because I'm about ready to barbecue a six-year-old snot."

Without another word, she snaps the door open and leaves. Ben stares at the closed door in something like shock. What could Tyler have done? Sure, he's energetic and hot-headed and he's fallen or gotten in an argument or two, but never bad enough that Mal had to leave to go get him. And he hasn't heard her get that angry at one of the kids in… ever.

Everyone's looking at him for answers, and so Ben takes a deep breath and forces a smile. "Sorry, Audrey," He apologizes to the miffed woman. "Family emergency. Please continue."

He glances at his phone for the rest of the meeting, hoping for some sort of update from his wife. No such thing comes through. The meeting finally lets out and then he walks everyone down to the front entryway, still checking his phone for any sort of correspondence.

As everyone is coming down the front stairwell, the door opens, and Tyler walks in, sobbing unashamedly and keeping his face turned towards the ground. Mal enters after him, madder than mad. Tyler reaches the staircase, looks up and sees his dad, and then collapses to the staircase crying. He buries his face into his knees and lets his backpack fall beside him as Mal starts to storm up the stairs. Some of the royals who don't quite care as much about drama in the head family start heading out the door, but others stop and stare at the purple-haired prince in concern.

Ben catches Mal's arm as she starts to head up to their apartment, so angry her face almost matches her hair. "What happened?" He demands, casting worried looks at the child on the steps.

"Oh, you'll never believe it!" Mal exclaims in a moment of flamboyant rage. She completely forgets about the other royals surrounding them as she whirls down to direct her statements down the stairs. "I can't believe such a horrible thing would happen in our family and especially that one of our kids did it. I'm never been so embarrassed and upset at one of them!" Down the step, Tyler only cries harder. He's hiccupping so much he sounds like he's about to cough up a lung. Mal has no sympathy as she turns back around. "He's going to tell you all about it because I can't stand to look at him right now!"

"I'm sorry!" Tyler whimpers from the bottom steps. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry,"

"No you're not," Mal hisses. "But you will be."

She turns and leaves without another word. Ben's left to gape open-mouthed as other royals start shuffling towards the door, some still trying to hang back and see the drama. He starts trying to lead people to the exit, walking around Tyler until everyone is finally gone and left. Then, he goes over to sit in front of Tyler and pull the details out of him. It's all in hiccups without looking at him once, but that doesn't make Ben feel any sorrier once he figures out what happened.

Hmm. Turns out Mal wasn't overreacting. She might have been underreacting.

He hasn't felt this much rage towards one of his children before.

"You better scram," He growls when Tyler's finished explaining everything to him. "Because I have never been this disappointed in you. I don't want to look at you either. You go straight up to your room and don't you dare come out until we come to get you."

Tyler sprints away immediately, crying in sadness and fear, and Ben only feels a few pangs in his chest before he has to get up, grab Tyler's backpack, and head up the stairs.

Up in the kitchenette, Mal is balancing the baby on one hip as she nurses a glass of ice water with the other. Ben hangs up Tyler's backpack and goes to stand against the bar as she takes a few deep breaths.

"How many kids?" Ben mutters in a harsh whisper.

"They're saying eight now," Mal replies. Her voice is much calmer now that her eyes are closed and she's balancing Belle and her water. "But it might be more. They're asking his old classmates and everyone in his grade right now."

"How'd they catch him?" Ben asks.

"One of the kids broke down when the teacher asked how they'd liked their treat," Mal says nonchalantly. "They think he's been threatening kids since before school let out last year."

"He doesn't know who told, right?" Ben asks. He doesn't want the poor kid under more stress.

"No, he does know. The teacher was talking to the whole class when it happened. That's how they found out it was so many kids all at once. Once one kid admitted it the rest broke down too. The teacher took the entire class straight to the office and they've been going through everyone and calling parents for the last two hours. They called us last when they knew how many kids were in his class that he'd threatened."

"Greedy little punk."

"What're we going to do?"

Ben has no idea what to do. Zach never even went to school, much less bullied his class into giving him stuff. And the stipulation… he hasn't been this mad in a very, very long time. "And he used us?" He asks, voice trembling with barely concealed fury.

"Some of them he did. He said we'd get them and their parents in trouble. Others he just used his magic to threaten them."

"And no one got hurt?"

"No, but everyone's pretty scared of him now," Mal sighs, shaking her head. "He's suspended all this week and next. Maybe I should pull him out and make him tutor at home?"

"I don't know," Ben shakes his head, taking a seat at the bar. "He's got to apologize to his whole class, though. And we've got to figure out a good punishment for him."

"I don't think we need to yell at him anymore," Mal sighs. "I traumatized him enough just walking into the building. He wet himself on the way out to the car. What did you do?"

"Told him I was disappointed and that I couldn't look at him and to go sit in his room." Ben runs a hand down his face. "It won't be as effective though. He's a momma's kid."

Mal nods with a hum and kisses Belle's forehead as their five-month-old sleeps against her chest. She's currently wearing Ben's looks right now, as she often does when she's asleep. She tends to take on Mal's hair and pallor when she's angry, hungry, excited, or when she's having a particularly colorful dream. "I wonder if we made him pay dividends out of his own pocket for the class?" She asked. "Aladdin and Jasmine had Aziz do that while he was growing up if they caught him stealing."

Ben tosses the idea back and forth and then nods in approval. "I like that idea, actually," He sighs. "Maybe we should pull him out until the winter semester and give him a tutor until then. Keep him under wing so he doesn't lash out at anyone until then."

Mal hums her approval and then flicks her eyes towards the door. "Should we go talk to him now, or give him more time to cool down?"

"I don't want to look at him right now," Ben growls and leans forward to put his head on the table. "Oh… that child… he's got such a sharp tongue."

"You're telling me," Mal muttered, taking a seat beside him.

"You know he gets it from you, right?" He turns to stare at Mal. "Him and Zach both. All their wit comes from you and your parents. They talk circles around me."

"That's flattering, Ben," Mal rolls her eyes. She sighs and leans her head on his shoulder, balancing the baby in her lap far enough away that Belle's not breathing the underside of the table. "I need a nap."

Ben laughs. "Only a nap? I need a full winter's hibernation."

"I need a grave," Mal responds dryly.

"Here lies Mal Betha's patience."

"And Ben Florian's wit."

"Ouch."

"…"

"Should we go talk to him now?"

"I thought you needed a hibernation?"

"Oh, believe me, wrestling with that kid is going to put me into a coma, easily."

* * *

Tyler does extra chores around the castle all the days he's home from school. Lumiere puts him to work mopping floors, scrubbing windows, polishing silverware, and vacuuming. In the evenings, he still has to do all the schoolwork he missed at the bar while Zach reads through his textbooks and writes in his new hardback leather journal that he got for his birthday. His composition notebook is full and in a prized position in his bookcase while the journal gets to take up the treasured place on his headboard with his old dictionary.

When Tyler has to go back to school, he's still a bit short of being able to afford what he and Ben and Mal agreed would be honorable compensation for the class – a bunch of goodies for them each with extra items for the kids he was heckling – but Ben and Mal aren't willing to be very merciful in this case. Tyler and Ben go through his room and clean out a bunch of things for Tyler to put up for sale on the internet. Ben and Mal go ahead and buy the supplies so he can spend his last Sunday evening at home making gifts for the rest of his classmates, but they make sure he knows he owes them now.

Tyler is sick of doing so much extra work and sick of having his parents so mad at him, so he wakes up early for school and gets ready without prompting and is excited to get out from under his parent's thumb.

At the school, Mal walks him inside with pinched lips and makes him stand by the teacher's desk while the rest of the class does their exercises. Mal can tell which kids were the most traumatized. They're the ones who refuse to stare at her as their little hands shake.

Tyler gives an apology to the entire class, refusing to lift his head more than a few inches and with his cheeks stained bright red. His voice shakes and is much quieter than usual. Occasionally, he glances at the back to make sure his mom isn't getting more mad at him. Mal watches the teacher's face. She looks pretty darn impressed as Tyler passes out his apology gifts after explaining briefly about them. Finally, Tyler is done and he does his best to not pout as he looks back at his mom.

Mal gets down on a knee so she doesn't have to stand over him. "I'm proud of you for doing that," she tells him, loud enough for everyone else to hear. "But if I ever hear about you doing something like this again, and especially if you're using Dad and me as a threat, then we're going to make sure the punishment is a lot worse than this."

"Class?" The teacher calls for attention as Mal gives Tyler a quick hug and pushes him to take a seat. "What should we say to Tyler?"

"Not Thank-you," Mal interrupts before anyone can say it. She gives Tyler a firm look. "He shouldn't have been a bully in the first place. So, don't make anyone say thank-you if they're still hurt by him."

"I'm gonna say thank you," someone mutters from the front and then turns around. "Thanks, Tyler."

Tyler just shakes his head and puts it down on the desk. "I'm sorry," He repeats and hides his face.

The teacher is impressed. "If everyone parented like you, we wouldn't have problems with bullies," she says.

The compliment helps. It does. But Mal doesn't let it show as she rests a hand on her son's neck and runs her fingers through his hair comfortingly. "I'm going to go now," she announces slowly, and he sits back up and twists around in his seat to hug her. In front of all his friends, too. Hmm. "Love you, Beastie."

"Love you too, Mom," He mumbles under his breath and then turns back to the class. The teacher starts the day as everyone fidgets with the things Tyler brought as an apology. Mal sneaks out the door silently.

* * *

Where do years go so quickly? Tyler seems to climb another grade every other day… and now suddenly Auradon Accelerated is asking Zach to specialize because he's completed all of the general education courses. He's already eligible for a degree in mathematics or biophysics and he's only eleven. Ben and Mal agree to let him go for his old favorite; Microbiology and Metaphysics.

Tyler ditches dance fully for theatre and focuses on acting and performing, just like Mal thought he would. He graduates from the children's theatre to a small-town acting organization. He's not a bad dancer still and not a bad singer either. It makes her proud because she can see some of her qualities in him when he's acting or helping to build backstage props. She has to pitch in a lot to help, and it's hard, but it's also really fulfilling with how much fun he has with it all.

Belle reaches four. She learns to dance practically right after she learns to walk and is singing in babbling tones before she can even talk. She's a big blanket lover, which is new because Zach enjoyed books and Tyler enjoyed action figures. Mal's never had to look after one blanket that gets dragged out of the house, through the mud and dirt, into the car, and around the palace. She has to time when it's washed just right, or Belle will notice it's gone and break down. So long as Ben is around to cuddle with her while the blanket is absent, then she's fine. She's a big daddy's girl. It makes Mal a little jealous because her last little baby is probably the least like her out of all of them. She loves being her dad's princess and wearing the heels that Mal hides in the back of her closet and stealing makeup and using markers as lipstick. If not for her purple hair, which she likes wearing all of the time except when she's cuddling with Ben, she'd be more like Evie's daughter than Mal's.

At the end of the year, before school lets out again for Tyler and Zach decides to stay on for the summer semester of college, he creeps into Mal's room with a little blush and asks if he can ask her something. She closes the door so they can sit on her bed and talk. Zach sits at the edge of the bed, twiddling his thumbs like Ben does when he's trying to find the right words for something and rocks back and forth with a blush. "Mom?" He finally asks. "How do you get girls to like you?"

Part of Mal's world stops. She tilts her head to consider the question. Not only who it's coming from, but how it's being presented. Her son is twelve. That's only four years younger than Ben was when he met her. She should probably start getting used to this idea now. "Well, Baby, it depends," She sighs, and Zach wrinkles up his nose at the nickname he still hates. Mal doesn't care. She'll use it when he's eighty if she's still around. She's his mother and that's a right she holds. "If it's someone specific, she might have something special that she likes you to do. If it's girls in general, then there are a few things you could try."

"Like how?" Zach asks, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. It occurs to Mal how big he's gotten. How tall is he? He's not taller than her yet, right?

Mal hums and tugs on her hair as she thinks. "Okay, listen, I'm going to tell you this, but you have to keep it a little secret, okay? I figured this out after I married your dad when I was watching all my friends and his friends get married. And it's a little sneaky, but it works almost every time." She exhaled and spread her hands out a little. "If you want a girl to like you, then you need to go and find out who her dad is and who her brothers are or if she has any close guy friends. Then, you go and become friends with them. The more you act like and hang out with people she already likes, the more she'll like you."

"But dad says you shouldn't act like something you're not," Zach frowns.

"And you shouldn't," Mal affirms. "But when you hang out with lots of friends of one type, what happens?"

Zach falls silent as he thinks. "You… start acting like them," he answers finally.

"Exactly," Mal nods. "So hang out with her friends, do things you all like together, and she'll notice you like that. The second thing is to talk to her, and that's where most people stop or go wrong. Because you don't want to come right out and confess love or anything. You want to wait so that you have a good friendship first. So ask her about her day and about things she likes to do and if she mentions she'll be doing something, ask her about it later. It's really impressive when you remember things about other people. Your dad remembered my entire schedule for me when we were dating, and that helped me a lot because I sometimes forgot. And now, he remembers everything I told him about the Isle, and that's good because he knows how to talk to me about it."

"That makes sense," Zach nods, looking very comforted. "I'm glad you give straightforward answers. Dad just said to be yourself and everything will work out."

"That's important after you start dating." Mal rolls her eyes. "Taking initiative is a little different." She elbows Zach a little. "So, is there someone special you like?" She teases.

Zach blushes. "No," He protests. "No, that's silly, mom." He falls quiet, still twisting his thumbs around. "Mom? Would you be mad if Tyler or Belle or I fell in love with someone who was the same gender? Like if I fell in love with a boy or if Belle fell in love with a girl?"

"I wouldn't be mad," Mal shakes her head. "You're my son and I love you and that's the way you feel."

"But you wouldn't want me to change?" Zach asks. "Because kids at school talk about their parents and their parents sound mean."

"Zach, baby," Mal exhales and tilts her head. "What happened to me on the Isle of the Lost?"

Zach's shoulders hunch over and his eyes go wide as he gulps. "Lots of bad things," he says.

"And why don't we talk about it?" Mal asks.

"Because it hurts you."

"But it was a long time ago. Shouldn't I get over it? Shouldn't I change?"

Zach stays silent for a long, long time. Then he finally manages to shake his head. "No. It's just the way you feel."

"Exactly," Mal agrees in a hushed tone. "It wouldn't be right to tell me not to feel the way I feel. You can't argue with feelings."

Zach nods amicably at this description as if it makes a lot of sense to him. "I think Grandpa Adam might be mad," he tells her.

"Well, I think Grandpa Adam doesn't get a say in what happens in our family," Mal replies. Zach starts laughing. She smiles and leans forward on the bed to focus on Zach. "You should know one thing though," she cautions. "Because you're going to be king one day, you're going to have to decide where the kingdom will go. So if you have a son or daughter, it'll go to them. Or you might have to appoint someone else to the stead." She shrugs as if it doesn't matter that much, even though it's a pretty heavy decision. "So keep that in mind."

"I don't think I like boys very much," Zach admits with a deeper blush. "But I know lots of pretty girls. It's kinda hard to find out who's pretty and mean versus who's pretty and nice."

"That is hard," Mal agrees. "I knew lots of mean boys growing up, so when I met your dad I didn't believe he could be as good as everyone said he was."

"Dad told me that I should look out for girls like you," Zach says, puffing out his chest a little. "Because I said I wanted to love someone like Dad loves you, and so he said to find someone like you."

"Like me?" Mal laughs, putting a hand over her mouth. "That's a very mature thought, though."

"I haven't found anyone yet," Zach shakes his head and squints at the ground. "But I know lots of funny and strong girls my age, so maybe I'll talk to them first."

Mal's touched. She feels a blush rising into her cheeks as Zach stares off into the distance. "That's very sweet, honey," She whispers.

"Honey is not better than Baby, mom."

"It wasn't supposed to be."

Zach sighs irritably and hops off her bed. "Thanks, mom. That helped me a lot." He wraps his arms around her waist. Mal hugs him back, then stands up. A quick glance reveals he's now up to her mouth. Pretty soon, he'll have to lean down so she can kiss his head. A few stubborn tears fill her eyes.

"Anytime," she whispers. Zach steals one last hug and then leaves without looking back.

* * *

Tyler brings home his sixth-grade field trip permission form for both of them to sign and looks a little tense as he slides it onto the counter. "Mom, Dad?" He asks. "Our class is going to be going to the Memorial for the Isle of the Lost next week. We're going to be walking around some places on the old Isle with a tour guide. There's an alternative video, but I want to go! All my friends are going and I know it's not your favorite place but there is going to be a quiz on it and it's part of the curriculum so pleasepleasecanIgoplease?"

Ben pauses in reading his paperwork and watches his son dance back and forth anxiously with his fingers crossed for luck as he awaits their response. He's forgotten how he'd instituted Isle culture as part of Sixth Grade Curriculum. He glances over at Mal. Her expression is blank. She doesn't quite seem to have an opinion as she turns the page over and examines the details of the trip. "Bargain Castle," She whispers as she reads. "That's where I grew up."

Ben reaches across the table for her hand, but she gives him the paper instead before turning to pull out some chocolate pudding for Belle. Tyler explodes a little in his excitement. "You could come to be an advisor!" He exclaims. "You could go on the trip with us and-"

"No, Tyler," Mal shakes her head. "I don't want to go there." She flips on the radio in the kitchen and turns on the Hot 100 station. Belle starts bopping her head to the beat along with Ben as he reads. It makes her laugh to see them doing the same motion without realizing it. "I have no problems with it if you want to go, though."

Tyler deflates a little but looks over at Ben with hopeful eyes. Ben holds out a hand. "Pen?" He asks, and Tyler quickly dashes to grab him one

They don't say much else on the Isle of the Lost.

* * *

Zach is fourteen when he graduates with his first official degree in Metaphysics. It's a very long, hot, hard day. Belle sunburns since she's wearing Mal's skin when they go out. She likes the attention that the colorful hair garners, and she's pretty enough to keep people's attention after they notice her. It makes Ben antsy. He doesn't like older boys taking glances at his little seven-year-old.

Zach is the shortest person on stage, but everyone regards him as someone cool that they like. He's an inspiration to be graduating with something that advanced in such a short amount of time. Also, his parents are the King and Queen, and he's two years off of becoming King, so there's a certain level of respect that has to be garnered.

Zach stumbles off the stage at the end of it all and rushes over to them for photos. "Look!" He exclaims, smiling broadly as he waves his diploma. "Look! I did it!"

He stops in the sunlight so Mal can take a few photos of him, and then he jumps to her side. "I want a photo with you!" He exclaims. "You and Dad. Hey! Tyler! Can you take our photo?"

It is a very weird feeling to be standing beside her graduated son while her other son takes a bunch of photos. It is even weirder when she looks over and Zach and realizes she's now looking up at him. He's officially passed her.

* * *

Belle first asks about the Isle of the Lost when she's nine and both Zach and Tyler hush her before Mal can even start to formulate a response. Their reactions are so perfectly timed and so right-off-the-bat that it takes her even longer to figure out what to say. "I don't talk about it much, do I?" She asks aloud. Zach and Tyler both shrug noncommittally and turn away.

Evie and Jay talk about their experiences on TV and in interviews and every year on the anniversary of the barrier falling. Carlos will talk about it with anyone who asks. But not Mal. She's never been too comfortable sharing her experiences with others.

"Would you like to go with me sometime?" She asks her children.

The boys look shocked at the offer, but Belle perks up. "Sure!" She agrees, ever eager to go somewhere with her mom.

"We'll have to go before Zach is crowned," Mal decides. They don't have a lot of time. Already, Zach is being booked with suit sizings and cake testings. Ben's been pulling him into the office more and more to show him how things work and the cathedral is already booked for coronation day.

A week later, Mal returns to the Isle for the first time in a long time. She drives them in herself. Ben stays behind in Auradon. He's never quite liked the Isle. But he promises to have dinner ready for them when they get back and asks them to call when they make it across the bridge.

"I remember this place!" Tyler announces from the backseat as they start to cross into the older parts of town that will never be renovated because they are a memorial to the horrible conditions people lived in.

Belle wrinkles her nose up. "People lived here?" She demands.

Mal stops the car outside a crumbling lot and lets the kids get out and wander. Only Tyler has been here before, though Belle will probably come with her sixth-grade class when the time comes.

"Do you see that big stone building?" Mal asks, pointing to a high-rise home.

Belle wrinkles her nose even further. "It looks like it's about to fall over."

"That's where I grew up," Mal reveals. All three kids fall silent. Mal offers her arm to Zach and then begins to lead them in. Mal shows her pass to the security guard as they step in, proving who she is and what this place means to her. They let them all pass without much comment.

The door to Bargain Castle swings on two rusty hinges. Rust and dust float to the ground as the door slides open. Belle coughs and Zach wraps an arm around her small frame. She and Tyler light their eyes up in an effort to see more, but Belle and Zach simply wait for the dust to settle. "When I came home from school," Mal begins, entering her old home and opening a window to let the daylight in, "I always took my stuff up to my room because my mom had friends who would steal my stuff and sell it if I didn't keep track of it."

The room is probably as big as their living room, but much taller because part of the second floor caved in and added some jagged height to the room. The wallpaper is peeling off worse than it was when Mal lived here and some things are knocked over, but it's overall the same. Rusty kitchen utensils hang along the wall beside a hazardous stove. Mal peels off her jacket to reveal a tank top, which she wore today on purpose. Tyler's face goes red as he watches her turn and put it down on a chair and she knows he's reminiscing when he drew all over himself because he wanted her 'battle marks'. He has scars now – the three marks Zach gave him in their fight years ago, a few things from getting hurt on set or being too reckless. And now that he kinda has an idea of how hard something has to hurt to leave a permanent mark, he doesn't talk about any of Mal's stark white shapes on her back.

Mal turns the underside of her arm over as Zach peers cautiously at the fridge magnets, which have been arranged to say 'Wicked' and "Evil'. "My mother was delusional," She calls, fighting to keep her voice from clamping up as she tries to explain these hard, hard things to her children. "She was sure that that was a safe and decided she didn't know how to open it. She used to go over and throw herself at it until someone helped her."

The scene she describes is almost comical, but no one laughs. Mal holds up her elbow and shows them an odd mark hidden behind her elbow, right on her tricep. "You had to be the right person to help her though. She usually wanted the Evil Queen or Cruella to help her when they were over. I tried once and she was so furious that she held my arm to that stove as punishment."

Zach jumps away from the stove like it's alive or dangerous. Belle spins away from Mal so she doesn't have to look her mom in the eyes. She goes and curls up in her oldest brother's side and they draw comfort from each other as Mal fingers the odd patch on her skin. She glances at the creaking, crumbling steps that lead to the second floor. "Let's go upstairs," she decides, turning to head towards the steps.

"I don't want to go up there!" Zach yelps, peering at the gaping hole in fear.

"It's safe," Mal assures him. "They lead tours through here, remember Tyler?"

Tyler's face is white. It's looking like he does remember, but he didn't exactly get this rundown the first time he was here and he doesn't want to be getting it now.

"That's not what I meant," Zach trails off. His face is pasty white as his gaze flickers between his mom, the stove which will probably haunt his dreams, and the upstairs.

Mal starts up the stairs, and slowly all three kids follow.

Up here, it is cleaner than it was when she lived here. She used to have to navigate piles of metal, bricks, and glass in the dark. And all the doors are open so people can peer in as they walk through. Mal lets the kids examine the bathroom briefly before pointing to the door closest to the stairs on the left side. "This is my old room."

One by one, the kids peer inside. She can see them drawing up visions of their comfortable rooms at home and comparing them. Her old room is much, much bigger than any room in their little apartment. A very large and cushy bed fills most of the space, which would look inviting if not for the broken, rotting posts, the moldy grey and green sheets, the rips and tears visible along the entire thing, and the odd depressions scattered along in the mattress. On one side of the room is a wall of shelves. Plastic and metal and wooden shelves that she built out of old boards and rusted nails or little plastic sliding drawer compartments that she screwed to the wall to discourage her mother from stealing them. Large gouges of sheetrock have been punched out of the wall – literally in some cases. Mal points to the back of the room where the paint has been stripped away in most places and the wall is full of holes like a honeycomb. Old blood streaks the walls. "That was my area," she says and even now, thirty years later, can't keep the hints of pride out of her voice. "I practiced hitting there. You can't tell from here, but I once punched a hole through the sheetrock and out through a board that was serving as the exterior wall. I was so proud – even though my room was cold after that."

"It's so… dark in here…" Belle whispers, leaning into the room and peering from side to side. A velvet rope across the door forbids them from going any further.

"We didn't have lights," Mal nods in agreement. She sets a hand on Zach's shoulder and he almost jumps through the roof. "I think Dad told you something about my mom when you were younger? About how she used to take money and information?"

"She sold you," Zach confirms flatly, face going a bit green as he avoids her eyes. He's older now, and he mostly knows what that statement means though he avoids thinking about it. Tyler jolts in shock to hear it.

Mal nods to the bed, with its flamboyant oversized-ness and odd depressions near the middle and the edges. Her shakes shake against her sides. "That often happened here," she tells them and then turns away.

Maybe she can't see their reactions, but she can hear Tyler and Zach breathing carefully like they've been punched as they gape a few seconds longer at the room. Part of Mal wants to dig a little deeper. She's never really felt brave enough to tell them about all of this and doubts she'll ever be able to again. She wants to describe the horror she felt every individual time and the struggle it was and how her mother would bang on her door and shout to not make so much noise if she happened to cry.

But part of the boys are still young and innocent to her past. And the bigger part of Mal wishes they'd always stay like that.

"This is Grandma Maleficent's room," Mal announces when the three finally stop comparing their lives with her old one and wander down closer to her. Maleficent's room is by far the filthiest, with piles of black fabric and heaps of charcoal and half-drawn blueprints of the Isle of the Lost strewn about. They can't see her bed from this angle; only the trash and a few random stools and a large foreboding statue are visible from the door. "I wasn't allowed in this room."

Not much is left to be said.

The last room is one that Mal doesn't introduce. She leans against the doorframe as the kids look inside. Tyler knows what it is but doesn't announce it. Zach catches on quicker than Belle does. When he realizes, he stumbles back down the hall, shaking his head. "No, mom," he moans, covering his ears with his hands. "No more stories, please?"

"You can go back downstairs if you want," Mal says softly. However, Zach doesn't. He just hovers where he can't see the inside of the room.

Inside, the room is almost entirely made of stone except for one patch of wood underneath four hanging chains. On the wall hangs a variety of scary-looking tools ranging from knives to screwdrivers to handsaws and forks. Everything is twisted and rusted over with age. A few things probably still have blood on them, though none of the kids will know that in the dim light. They can, however, see the state of the wood on the floor. She doesn't say anything as they take in the depressions made from dripping liquid over a long time and the thick brown stains on the floor.

"This is where I would stay if my mother was mad at me," Mal says simply. She has to keep it simple, otherwise, her brain will remember everything and try and block out the bad memories. "If I did something wrong or if I couldn't finish something she told me to do or if she was in a bad mood, then I'd stay here instead of in my room."

"And she'd chain you up?" Belle asks softly.

Mal nods. A dull ringing is filling her ears. "Do you see all the things on the wall?" She asks.

Tyler and Belle nod. Zach covers his ears down the hall.

"My mother's favorite was the fork," Mal reveals.

There are several long moments of silence. Then, Tyler manages to croak out: "Did she just… rake you with it?"

Mal shakes her head. "No. See, it was harder if I had the energy to struggle, so she'd string me up by my wrists and shoulders for a few days until I was hungry and too tired to move as much. Then she'd use the knives to make the cuts before sticking the fork in and twisting it. That's why I have so many ugly marks on my back. She also liked to separate my skin using the screwdriver."

She turns away then and walks back to the stairs because the ringing in her ears is getting louder and she feels dizzy. It's been thirty years, but she can still feel her mother's maniacal laugh as she pulls skin straight off of muscle by running that thing between the two layers.

"How are you alive?" Belle asks in a shaky voice as they wander down the stairs again.

Mal shrugs. "I guess I was too stubborn to die," She decides. "Or maybe I just got used to it."

"But Grandma did try, right?" Zach croaks out as he stumbles back onto the ground level.

Mal nods. She should have figured this would come up. "Every so often," She confirms. "I usually just left home and went to stay with friends until she forgot about it."

None of them feel like wandering anymore, so they all sit out in the sunshine on the hood of the car while Mal pokes around at her past, telling stories about Evie and Jay and Carlos and the chaos they'd cause or what school was like over here. She works her way from the beginning slowly, skipping over the worst or the longest stories because it's not what she can handle. She ends with her version of the one they know the best.

"My mother's goons moved behind my friends. She told us we'd been invited to go to a different school in Auradon. This was about an hour before the limo picked us up. We packed up and our parents gave us a mission to steal the wand. A long, sleek black car pulled up right here. All the other kid's parents came down to see the car but my mother stood up there so she could watch me get in. One of her fingernails was green." She drums her fingers on the car's hood and then glances over to see her children staring at the sky while they listen intently to her. "And then I went to Auradon that day."

"And met dad," Zach huffs, watching the clouds roll on by.

"And met dad," Mal affirms.

Belle curled up. "I want to go home," She moans, closing her eyes. Her hair shifts color from purple to blonde and her skin tans over. "I want to go see dad."

Mal snorts and sits up. "Me too," she whispers. "Let's go."

The drive home is mostly silence, though they stop and get ice cream through a drive-through on their way home. "This is where we told Zach and Tyler that we were going to have you, Belle," Mal calls to her youngest as she passes towering ice cream cones around.

"I'm still mad you're not a boy," Tyler grumbles, sinking into his chair.

They stumble through the door; an array of kicking shoes off and dropping coats and balancing ice cream as they come. Ben watches, amused. It's been the same show every day of their lives. Zach hugs him first, burrowing his face into his shoulder before stumbling off to the hall to go down to his room. Tyler is next, giving Ben a quick hug before sitting down at the bar to finish his ice cream. Belle burrows into Ben's side and nuzzles against his chest for several long seconds before her hair starts to pick up purple streaks again. "I don't like the Isle of the Lost," She whispers in his ear.

"Me neither," Ben mumbles, running his fingertips up and down her back with a glance to Mal. "Are you gonna go sit in your room for a little bit?"

Belle nods and withdraws from him. "I might try to write a song again," She sighs and disappears. She's taking piano now, and so a keyboard is set up in her room for when she doesn't feel like going down to the palace sitting room to use the baby grand piano. Mal sets her ice cream down on the counter and pulls out two spoons to share with him. Tyler takes chocolate syrup out of the fridge, coats his ice cream, and leaves for his room. They wait until piano tones are floating down the hall and Tyler's door has closed before Mal sits beside Ben and leans her head against his shoulder. He wraps an arm around her without a word.

"I did it," She whispers against his shirt.

He hums, a deep rumble in his chest that almost immediately lulls Mal to sleep.

"It wasn't so hard to talk once I got there."

He rubs his fingertips up and down her back.

"Do you think I've raised them right?"

This is the first thing he responds to after he hoists her off her chair and into his embrace fully. "Well," he sighs against her ear, tickling her hair against her lobe, "Considering we're putting a fully-fledged genius on the throne in two weeks and he's set to gain a degree in both psychology and political sciences next year, I don't think there's any way you could be considered a bad mother. Not to mention Tyler's a talented enough actor to be looking into television roles and Belle's set to perform the national anthem at Zach coronation."

"Even though I just dragged them through the worst place in Auradon and traumatized them?"

"Traumatized? Hardly. Zach's been asking things since he was six. And he needs to know what's out there. They all do. It's good you finally told them."

"Are you sure?"

He kisses her hair and squeezes her tightly until she can't feel her mother's thirty-year-old hands on her skin and all she can feel is him hugging her. "Positive."

* * *

It's today. Today is it.

Mal puts her crown on for probably the last time before it goes to the museum to wait for Zach to find a bride. Her hair is already done. Her dress is a slightly different version of the one she wore to Ben's coronation over twenty years ago. In the bathroom, Ben is dabbing on cologne and messing with his hair. He stops when he sees her and pulls her towards the mirror. It's somewhat a tradition for Ben to do her makeup for all these fancy royal events and has been ever since she and Evie stopped living together. He brushes powder over her eyelids and cups her face as he finishes her eyeliner and mascara. She still blushes when he picks up a tube of lipstick and drags his fingers along the underside of her jaw before sliding an even coat over her mouth. More than twenty years and it's still a sensual act. He smirks as he does her bottom lip, pausing to let his gaze flick to hers. She squirms a little and he laughs.

"Care to kiss this all off of me?" She asks with a sigh.

"Not right now," he rolls his eyes as he slides a hand around her back and pulls her flush against his side. "Are you ready now?"

She examines their reflections. He's wearing a very similar suit to the one he was coronated in as well. She tries to remember what they both looked like when he was first crowned and compares them now. Her hair is less vibrant. She's getting older now, and the purple doesn't grow in as strong. There are smile lines around her mouth. Her hips are wider and her skin is much, much softer. Both age and not fighting as much have softened her. Ben is taller. He finished his growth spurt after sixteen. He has muscles in his jaw that he didn't have before from clenching it during meetings. They both have this light in their eyes that must have sunk in at some point during their marriage and subsequent raising of three children. It's something reflected in both their irises that tells the world they love each other and they love what they've chosen to do and they love each of their children on top of all of that.

"Where's Zach?" Ben finally asks, leaning his head on hers.

"I think in his room," Mal parts from his side. "I'll go get him."

She wanders back through their home and past the living room to go find Zach's bedroom. His door is open, and she's not all that surprised to find him sitting on his bed and reading through his very old, well-loved dictionary.

He looks up when she enters and smiles. "Hi mom," he whispers. Mal smiles like it's the first time he ever said that word to her and sits down beside him for a hug. He towers over her, just a little bit shorter than Ben is now, and Mal mourns the days he could fit in both of her hands.

"Hi baby," she whispers against his shoulder. He chuckles at the old, still annoying nickname. On days like today, when they're alone, it's not as annoying. Only endearing. "You ready for today?"

"I guess," Zach sighs and leans back against the wall. "I'm just kinda… taking it all in."

He looks like her. No one can deny it. Her face is hidden underneath all of that hair he inherited from Ben. He's her son and he has her mouth and eyes and nose and everything. It somehow seems masculine even though she knows she has a very feminine face.

He exhales as he looks around the room. Mal sees his gaze land on the bookshelf that they built together, her him and Ben. His eyes drift to his diploma, framed on the wall, and to the pictures of their family and his friends and girls he thinks are pretty taped up behind his desk. They skim all the journals he's gone through over the years and his mouth twists into a chuckle at the one lone composition notebook. He reaches for the guitar leaning against his headboard and strums the chords softly, looking for something to fill the room.

"I didn't feel like I was growing up that fast, but now I'm confused at what happened to all the time," he exhales and glances over at her. He blinks in surprise for a few moments as if he doesn't recognize her. Mal touches her hair self-consciously.

"It goes by fast," she nods. "Of course, you went a bit faster than Belle and Tyler, but they're still growing fast too."

Zach's mouth turns into a little smile that she's seen all too many times in the mirror and captured by nosy cameramen. "Thank you," he whispers and puts her hand on top of his. "For everything. I mean, Dad helped a lot, but you were always my favorite parent."

Mal almost jumps back in shock. "Really?" She gasps and wipes hurriedly at the tears filling her eyes. "Why? I thought that Ben… Dad would have been your favorite. I mean, he's so smart and patient…"

Zach shakes his head and reaches on his headboard for something hidden behind his pillows. He pulls out an origami action figure. A beast. On his blue coat is written the year Zach received him, at age seven. "Well, Dad did know a lot, and I couldn't always talk about what I was learning to you, but you were there for the real stuff. You drove me to school and you made us snacks and you skipped meetings when we were sick…and when I was little I remember that even if Dad was the one tucking me in, you'd still come in and kiss my forehead." He gives her this sheepish, shy smile that isn't quite hers, but she could still imagine herself doing it. "I always pretended I was asleep."

He puts the action figure back down in its protected spot and keeps talking. "You carried us inside when we pretended to be asleep in the car and let us fall asleep on you during movies. You made me do things I hated because you knew it'd teach me patience and hard work and you fixed things when I didn't do them quite right… Mom, I love you. You were the one person I knew would love me and keep me safe no matter what."

Mal feels a bit embarrassed to be crying as hard as she is over this. She wipes furiously at her eyes, knowing she'll have to get Ben to redo all her makeup. "Don't you think I'm an idiot?" She asks, hiccupping. "I'm never going to be as smart as you are."

"What? No! I could never think you were an idiot! To be honest when I was a preteen I just assumed you knew everything because you always had the answers I needed when I went to ask you stuff and you always knew how to say things so that it helped."

"But I don't know about cells and DNA and the spiral things!"

"Who cares? You knew about how to get girls to like me and how to keep me safe and I'm pretty sure that if I had needed to hide a body, you would have known how to help with that too. I mean, Mom, we didn't need security around if you were going with us because the guards knew you'd keep us safe! Do you know how annoying it was to have to take two guards for every person when Dad took us somewhere without you? Of course not! You didn't need them. We knew you'd protect us."

Mal waves her hands at her eyes frantically. "You really think I'm a good mom?" she gasps, trying to stay her tears. "Because I've seriously been thinking all these years that you were going to grow up and accept the fact I know nothing about math and science and just cease to talk to me."

"Mom, I would never do that!" Zach wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her shoulder. "You're the most important person in my life. When I grow up, I want to find someone just like you."

Mal sobs unashamedly, kissing Zach's head and drawing little patterns on his back until her tears calm down. When all is silent again, she hears Zach take a breath and whisper: "It sucks that I'm too tall for hugs like these." He ducks out from under her arm and instead picks her up so he can hug her to his chest, almost exactly like his dad does when she needs extra comfort. She kisses his cheek and hugs him around his neck for several minutes before there's a knock at the door and they both look over to see Ben standing and waiting for them.

Ben rolls his eyes. "You've ruined your makeup," he reprimands softly.

Mal hiccups and wipes her eyes. "I bet," she mumbles.

"The carriage is ready to take you down to the cathedral, Zach," Ben calls. "We'll be taking the fast way in the family car."

"Okay," Zach sighs and sets Mal back down on the bed. He gives her one last hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Mom," he says.

"I love you too, Zach," Mal replies, wiping tears off of her cheeks.

Zach shakes his dad's hand and they exchange hugs and 'I love you's before Zach leaves the room and Ben helps Mal stand back up.

She looks around the room one last time. She remembers bringing him home to this room. Remembers taking down the crib. Remembers guiding him through his first books. There's the guitar in the corner she made him play and the sheets she picked out for him. There's the bookcase she put up and the journals she made him write. This room is his but the fingerprints of all her hard work are all over it.

Ben fixes her makeup and then Belle's. Mal helps Tyler with his tie and his wild hair. They get in the car and head over to the cathedral together, arriving twenty minutes before Zach will. The car feels empty without her oldest reading in the back or passenger seat. His girlfriend is in the carriage with him – they picked her up on the way. Live TV is rolling, cell phones are out as her son comes down the road. He helps her out, they come up to the doors where Ben and Mal wait, and Mal can't help but think everything about this day is perfect.

Nothing about it is easy, but everything is perfect.

And when she watches Ben's old crown go down on Zach's head, she wouldn't have her life go any other way.


	30. Green Eyes, Star Eyes pt1

**This is a long story. If you would like to read it in a more broken-up format, you can find in on ArchiveofourOwn under the name 'Green Eyes, Star Eyes' by WanderlustandFreedom.**

* * *

**Ben had long since accepted the meager lifestyle that came with being an HK, or Hero's Kid. It was a title mockingly adorned to the lesser half of the population, to remind them of exactly why they were hated. He's grown up inside of a giant green barrier in the middle of a desert, knowing that as soon as he's old enough, he's going to be sold into the real world like some live possession for the villains to enjoy.**

**But in the marketplace, he meets someone he'd never suspected could ever be real. The girl from his dreams who he never suspected could be real. And, he learns, the person in line for the throne of the land. The same place he'd be if his family had managed to finish uniting Auradon. She, at least, doesn't seem content to let him die.**

* * *

Green Eyes, Star Eyes

"You look like someone killed your puppy."

Ben turned upon hearing the familiar voice. Despite everything weighing his soul down, he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "Hey!" He perked up, holding out a hand to invite her to come to sit beside him. She did, straightening her jacket as she kicked her shoes out beside his and leaned back with her palms bracing into the ground.

The girl's name was Mal and she'd been appearing in his dreams since he was about thirteen. He wasn't sure why – maybe his head had just created someone he could talk to? She might have been a product of his hormone-driven fantasies, but she was still excellent conversation. After all(and he realized this with none-too-few chuckles), the easiest person to get along with was yourself.

He had to say, looking at her, that his subconscious didn't exactly have low standards. She'd grown up with him over the years but was no less alluring or breathtaking than she had been the first time she'd appeared. Sharp, angular nose, a tiny slip of mouth with little plush pink lips pulled into a near-constant curl. Pink cheeks and nose, large green eyes that squinted past black lashes and thin, shadowy eyebrows. It might be a bit odd to know her face in so many dimensions – to know all the details of her better than he even knew his or his parents – but staring at it in dreams and in his imagination all his teen years had perfected his analysis. This imaginary girl had been the fixation of his daydreams since she'd first appeared.

Mal raised an eyebrow at him, brushing her most memorable feature, her purple hair, behind her ear. Another sign of how unrealistic his expectations were. She pushed her head out to prompt him to say something. He blinked. Had she said anything since she'd sat down?

"Who killed your puppy?" She prompted upon seeing his blank look. "Or – actually – you seem like the kind of guy who'd like kittens. Or those tiny annoying chirpy birds."

"Well, I-" Ben began, then tripped and stumbled over his own words. Mal waited, then started talking to cover up the awkwardness.

"You know, if I had to peg you for a pet guy, I'd probably go for a goldfish. Something small, not a lot of maintenance, something you could talk to when you're lonely…"

"Hey." Ben wrinkled his nose up. "I never asked for your opinion on my coping strategies,"

Mal burst into laughter. Ben watched her face change like it was all in slow motion. She rolled her shoulders back as her chest filled with air. Her mouth broke into a wild smile before her first laughs reached her throat. She used to never laugh like this. The very first time she'd laughed around him, he'd been so startled that she'd begun to laugh even harder.

He loved her laugh.

It seemed a bit odd to express affection towards a person he'd created. Still, he leaned his head on his hand and whispered: "I love your laugh."

Immediately, Mal covered her mouth, ceased her laugh, and rolled her eyes. Her utter disapproval of Ben's compliment forced a different laugh up and out of his chest. "You don't have to be so indignant," he told her.

"Why are you such a sap?" she groaned. "I never asked for someone like you in my life." She picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it in her palm. The surrounding scenery was from near his home. They were hiding in a crack in the ground with pretty, colorful rocks lining the walls. Wild rose bushes bloomed twice a year and Ben would often brave the thorns to bring them home to his mom. The sky above them was an odd grey and gold. Ben's dreams with Mal often took place here or on the front steps of his home.

He ran his fingers over the earth. Jagged, needle-like rocks stuck into his skin. He cleared his throat. "We might not be coming here much anymore," he whispered. "I have to go tomorrow. I hope I'll still see you, though."

"You always talk as if this is all real."

"It is to me."

* * *

Ben had long since accepted the meager lifestyle that came with being an HK, or Hero's Kid. It was a title mockingly adorned to the lesser half of the population, to remind them of exactly why they were hated.

Like most of the other Hero Kids, he lived in a three-room grey flat-roofed home on a thin gravel street in the middle of nowhere. There were long lines of colorless homes to make up the sparsely populated city where the Queen had decreed they would be kept. A large, vivid green barrier kept everyone from leaving the area. There were no walls, no stores, no government buildings or services. Those were strictly for the citizenry of the second caste of the system. The lowly, heroic outcasts did without things like parks and libraries and courthouse.

Though it would have been nice. Ben had always wanted to see a library.

The heroes were forced to earn their upkeep by either processing paperwork from around the kingdom or manual labor. Ben's mother, despite her prominence, was lucky enough to hold a job in the former. Ben's father worked in the granite mines. Up until two weeks ago, Ben's hopes for the future had included a job processing papers, staying under the High Palace's radar, and not dying at an early age due to the assassination attempts that frequently plagued the heroes.

Twenty years ago, King Adam and Queen Belle had married and begun traveling about the kingdom. King Adam was the first to propose uniting the kingdoms to create one nation. All that talk had set the villains on edge – by the time the heroes began passing ideas back and forth about a deserted island off the coast of the continent where they could lock the villains away, it was too late. The villains united against the weakly-linked kingdoms and overthrew the kings and queens. They tortured those who fought back and plundered treasuries and lands before banishing all of the heroes – not to an Isle – to a deserted field at the base of a mighty mountain where they could be easily monitored and summoned. And it was here that Ben had been born and raised, son of Belle and the former Beast. The would-be rulers of the kingdoms, had they been able to finish uniting everyone.

The city was not a horrible place to grow up, at least not in Ben's childhood. It was orderly and many of the people were kind. They would protect you even if they didn't know you. The Heroic Outcasts were fed on rations and what they could raise themselves and gifted the cast-offs that no one else in the kingdom wanted, leading to an excess of drab cloth and rough yarn. No education was provided, but people like Ben's mother Belle taught the children to read and write. Ben loved to read, though all the books that came in were dirty and mistreated.

Queen Maleficent, the villainess who had ended up in charge of what might have been his country in another time, was not a bad queen. A cruel leader, sure, but she kept things in order and got things done quickly. Ben had heard that in other parts of the country, there were distribution centers and shelters and clean water. But not for the hero's children. Never for the hero's children.

When Ben was nine, the head government had come up with a demented new system to further torture the heroes that had begun to get used to being shut away. Major villains like Cruella De Vil, Gaston, and Maleficent herself had, over the years, been killing off their minions. They'd decided, instead of correcting their ways, the hero's children would step up to fulfill the need for servantry. At first, the head palace had assured them that the selection would be random. But the first "raffle" came and it was clear that they were only interested in the children of the famous heroes. Ben's parents had been trying to have another child – a sister for him – before they'd realized. After that, knowing the chances of Ben being raffled were already highly probable, they'd quit.

Ben had turned 16 months before the raffle and it was no surprise when his name was immediately drawn. He had two weeks before he'd leave home. Now one night. He'd be sent with forty-nine other children and young adults to be sold off to whoever wanted them. After that… the odds of not surviving your first three months were twenty-three to seventy-seven.

So, he wasn't going to come back, and he probably wouldn't survive the year.

It was early morning. The sun wasn't up yet. He hadn't slept all night. He had three hours left with his parents.

His mom was in the kitchen. He could hear her steps on the floor, pans sliding on the stovetop, her occasional gasps of breath when she began to cry. Part of him wanted to go out and spend whatever time he had left today with her. Watch his dad watch the sunrise. Ignore the lingering glances. The other part only wanted to stay seated on the root of his made bed, memorize the space that had been his for all his life, and ponder on the existence of his entire world.

He did finally manage to haul himself off of the bed. As soon as he'd opened the door, he could smell pancakes, which was crazy because the rations the former heroes lived on barely stretched to provide weekly bread.

In the center of the round kitchen table was a towering stack of golden-brown pancakes. Beside it, a bowl of apples that were cut small to cover the pancakes. "Mom!" Ben gasped, staring at the stack. "Why so many? You didn't need to do this!" Their food had to stretch. Belle and Adam would probably go hungry for a day or two to pay for this meal.

Ben's mom kissed him on the cheek with tears in her eyes. "Well, we needed something," she whispered, Behind her, hanging from a dull hook in the corner, was her bag for work. A mere thirty minutes after Ben left, she and Ben's dad would both be expected to be at work. Never mind that they'd just said goodbye to their only child for the last time. If Ben was purchased by someone more compassionate, they might receive his body or a notice of his death. More likely, they'd never know whether he'd died.

"You ready?" Adam asked from the doorway into their bedroom. Ben could barely see him with the dim lighting but could hear the shaking in his voice.

"There's not much I can do to get ready," Ben reasoned. "It's not like he could take anything. Whatever he took would likely be pawned off.

Not much was said over breakfast. Belle kept a bible on the table to read as she ate. Ben had tried to read it a few times, but as far as he could tell, it was specifically written to cause headaches. At one point though, she brushed a paragraph with her fingers and then said aloud: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." And Ben and his dad both nodded in synonymous solemnity. At the end of the meal, Belle wrapped four extra pancakes in a clean cloth for him to keep. Ben's dad watched the sunrise come up. Ben watched his parents move, committing every motion to memory.

At ten minutes to seven, a knock came at the door. Ben's dad crossed the room to open it. No one was very surprised to see Le Feu, a former associate of Gaston's who was now in charge of this cruel system, standing outside. He sneered when he saw who was behind the door.

"Well, well, well," he snickered. "I've been waiting for this day."

Adam said nothing, only looked to the ground biting his tongue as Ben took the pancakes his mom had packed. Keeping out of her sight, he removed two and set them back on the counter. He was tempted to leave the packet as a whole, knowing they would need something to keep them through to the next week, but also pondering on the rumors that none of the children who were sent were fed anything at all, and that was why they died off so quickly. Find your own food or starve to death.

He moved to the door slowly. Fast enough to not look like he was stalling too much, slow enough to not rush to leave his home. Belle followed him to the door. He hugged her tightly, burying his nose in her collarbone and trying to conjure up every good memory that he'd ever had with her. Then, before stepping over the threshold of the house, he hugged his dad in the same way. Belle started to cry as he was released and finally took a step out of the house.

"Alright, alright," Le Feu moaned gruffly, shoving Ben to the street where a group of other teens and young adults were standing in a guarded huddle. Other soldiers were going down the street, though they looked to be almost done. Ben watched as his next-door neighbor and childhood friend Chad was hauled out of his home and into the street with his own mother sobbing from the doorstep. Chad was the son of Cinderella and Charming, so it hadn't been much of a surprise when his name came up alongside Ben's. Other friends who would be leaving him were Lonnie, daughter of Mulan and Shang, and Audrey, daughter of Aurora and Stefan.

Their little group had never had much chance of jumping under the radar. Next year would be just as bad. Jane, the Fairy Godmother's daughter, would be sixteen then, along with Melody, Ariel and Eric's daughter, and Morgan, adopted daughter of Giselle.

Ben was ushered into the crowd and stood alone for a few seconds until he managed to find a stone-faced Lonnie patting a sobbing Audrey's back. He hung beside them, drawing patterns on Audrey's back until black armored trucks came down the road towards them.

He could run. He'd be shot and someone would have to take his place, but he could do it.

He wouldn't though. He'd let whoever was left have as much time as possible.

He didn't look back at his home until he was standing with about ten other kids in the back of the van. The front door was open still as Belle and Adam wept and watched everyone depart. He hoped they hadn't seen which one he was put in. He hoped they would be able to get through the day. And he hoped that, whenever his death happened, they wouldn't be too heartbroken to go on.

The market was dark and smoky, which was somehow both what Ben had been expecting and nothing he'd thought would exist in Maleficent's kingdom at the same time. Black cobbled streets that they were taken out on one by one in chains as seemingly hundreds of purchasers laughed and jeered from the sidelines. He could see people pointing at the fairer ones as they passed. Once descriptions were added to them, looks wouldn't matter as much. Everyone would want the children of the most famous heroes.

Poor Audrey was ridiculed the moment she was pulled off by her hair. The black-masked figure shook her arm. "Aurora's kid!" He yelled to the crowd, who began to scream and catcall with increasing viciousness.

The people who looked stronger were chained to tall beams on the far left side of the courtyard. Ben was one of them whose chains were shackled to the beam and then whose arms were tied behind his back. He'd stowed the pancakes in his shirt before the chains were applied, and the cloth rubbed against his stomach in circular motions. Besides him, on either side, was Chad and Lonnie. Audrey was not considered very strong, and as such stood still with her chains shackling her to the floor. This served two purposes. One, she couldn't run. Two, no one could steal her.

The new slaves were all subdued, and then the market filled. People walked back and forth, examining each. One came up to Ben and pried his jaw open to examine his teeth, and then jeered and rubbed some yellow off of theirs before walking away. Ben didn't fight much. What was the point?

An announcer started calling descriptions as the trucks pulled away. They announced parents and a starting price. Names didn't matter much around here.

Ben tried to block out the sounds of his friends being auctioned off. His eyes were throbbing through the smoke. He closed them, and when he next peered around, everything was blurry. He glanced down the line at Chad, who had three people wearing brown and dirty white looking at him and laughing as he set his jaw and refused to do anything for them. A group of people were heckling Audrey, sneering at the form-fitting clothes she wore and snorting as she flinched away from their touches. Then, as he tried to circle around to Lonnie, he spotted a figure in all purple staring at him.

He stared right back, and almost died on the spot.

Was that Mal?

The girl's face was blank from all emotion as she studied the outline of his face. And yes, she was wearing Mal's features. That same purple hair that was cut at slightly different lengths because she did it herself. Those same large green eyes and black lashes, unhidden by any makeup at all. She looked much, much paler in real life when she wasn't surrounded by the muted colors of his home, and much smaller around all these tall people.

He mouthed her name. "Mal?"

Someone stepped in front of him and cut off his vision. It was Le Feu, from earlier, and he was grinning ferociously as he presented Ben to someone wearing all brown leather beside him. "Here he is!" He announced with a laugh so loud and raucous that others in the area glanced to see who he was talking about. Le Feu wasn't the announcer – that man was still working through some kids a bit older than Ben who didn't have as prominent parents – but he was loud enough to be. He nudged the kid in brown. "Go tell your dad that he's with this bunch. I'm sure Gaston would love to meet Belle's son."

Ben's blood ran icy. He closed his eyes and refused to bow his head or looked alarmed at all. Both men laughed before someone cut them off.

"Sorry boys, but this one is mine."

Ben didn't need to open his eyes to know that it was Mal. He did need to open his eyes to examine her as she stepped forward, fingers on her chin as if in deep thought. "Go get your lackeys elsewhere."

She took his chin and turned his head from side to side to examine him further, then racked her eyes down his frame as she walked around him. He couldn't tell if she recognized him or not. Le Feu and Gaston's son both looked miffed. "Uh, Mal," the young boy scowled. "This is Belle's son. You know, my dad's girl? We have dibs."

Mal snapped her gaze over to the boy and Ben automatically shrank away. He'd been pinned under that gaze before in his dreams when doing something stupid or trying to poke fun at her. "Take it up with the palace," Mal snapped, rolling her eyes. She pulled a sealed pot out of her pocket along with a brush and quickly dipped it before taking his chin in an iron grip that was sure to leave bruises before painting something on his left cheek hurriedly. Behind her, the two men scoffed and walked away.

"Mal?" Ben whispered, barely loud enough to hear himself over the noise. Mal's gaze flicked up and hardened.

"Excuse me?" She demanded. "You don't get to use my name." She scoffed and spun on her heel. The tips of her hair whipped past his face. He almost expected her to storm off, but she simply stood guard beside him.

"Please?" He tried again, carefully examining her reaction. "I was just hoping I could beg a favor from you."

She glanced over her shoulder, looking annoyed he was still talking to her. "And why would I do anything for you?" She demanded softly.

Ben glanced down the line where someone was running her hands up and down Audrey's trembling sides. "The girl down there," he whispered. "is Aurora's daughter. Is there any chance you could… get her too? I don't want her going to any of those people who are heckling her."

Mal turned around, slowly. She tilted her head to the side. "Old fling?" she asked softly.

Ben shook his head. "Childhood friend," he corrected gently.

Mal shook her head. "If you want her to keep alive, it's best she don't come with us. My mom will literally cook her alive and eat her heart out."

Ben flinched back. Those rumors hadn't gotten back to the city. Was that what was going to happen to him? "I understand," he whispered softly, letting his chin drop.

Mal turned away. "Jay!" She snapped into the crowd and walked away. She didn't go far – he could still see her boots when she stopped, and he glanced up as she pulled the head of a tall, brown-haired boy with red jewels in his hair down to her level. For a second, Ben's heart skipped a beat. Was she eating him? Was she a cannibal just like her mom? Or was she kissing him in front of Ben? Oh, no, she was just whispering in his ear.

The boy glanced down the line as Mal reached into her pocket and withdrew a stack of vivid green plastic bills with Maleficent's face on them. She palmed about half to him and then withdrew back to Ben. Ben watched the boy walk away, shoving people out of his path as he strode, and then stop in front of Audrey. He stroked her cheek carefully, then turned around and hissed at the crowd like he was some sort of snake. Ben caught the word: "Palace."

"Jay'll take her," Mal muttered under her breath. "Don't be fooled by the act. His dad's a pretty normal-going owner. She'll probably take stock and work in the shop."

"Will she live?" Ben asked softly.

Mal rolled her eyes. "Everyone dies, Ben. Some sooner than others."

Ben stared at her. Mal waited for several seconds, examining her nails, and then glanced up at him. "What?" She demanded in a snap.

"You know my name?" Ben whispered. It hadn't been said yet.

Mal's expression hardened. "I heard your friends say it," she snapped and then quickly left and dissipated into the crowd.

No one touched Ben now that he had the paint on his cheek, but people glanced him up and down, wondering what was so special about him. Down the line, Audrey was taken away by Jay before the person next to Chad was announced. Ben could hardly focus as he raked his head for any recollection of a sign that Mal had recognized him. She had stared those first few minutes, yes, and she had seemed open to helping him, but nothing in her eyes had betrayed her. She had barely shown anything over impartial interest. Yet he was sure that she must know him. This dream girl that was apparently real. She must know who he was. Why else would she have told Le Feu to back off?

And more than that, who was she to have such sturdy connections?

Someone seized his shoulder. "This lad has already been claimed!" The announcer laughed. The stench of fish filled Ben's breath as the man leaned in to howl in his face. The crowd following the announcer laughed along with him before he waved for silence. "Behold!" he decreed, and Ben caught a glimpse of Mal standing behind the main crowd. "The son of Belle and Beast! The would-be King of Auradon!" With an exaggerated, mocking flourish, the announcer bowed with hands held palm-up beside his head, before rising to laugh again. The crowd exploded, pointing and jeering at him. A few of them bowed low to the ground, laughing and mocking as Ben's cheeks burned.

Mal's face had gone very pale. She seemed, for the first time, startled. It appeared that she hadn't known before who he was. That if Maleficent hadn't been quicker than the heroes, their situations would be reversed. Well, not entirely reversed… Belle and Adam wouldn't have sold the children of their enemies into slavery… but he would have been her king. Not her slave.

If she didn't know who he was, why had she wanted him?

Mal stepped forward to palm the announcer the rest of her cash and then gestured for several big, strong men to step forward and loose his chains. The announcer continued on to Lonnie, who was looking very pale, as Ben was led away. He never got to see who she went to. Mal didn't follow either. In fact, she didn't even look back for him, only continued wandering around the courtyard and looking at all the other slaves.

* * *

"Hey," Mal appeared at the door of the empty cell he'd been thrown in about ten hours ago.

He blinked up at her. "Hey," he replied. Now that he'd seen her in real life, her dream form seemed very fuzzy, like he was looking through glasses that weren't his prescription.

Mal didn't even glance at their new surroundings as she sat beside him. "You look like… oh, how should I put this? Like the person who killed your goldfish brought it back to life before killing it again and repeating the process a few dozens times and now you're just in an emotional state of 'why'."

Ben took a little breath that was meant to be a snort and kept on staring at her face. Her angular nose… her sharp cheekbones. She still seemed too good to be anything more than a vision, but he'd seen her. She'd been real.

Mal brushed her left eyebrow a little and gave him an odd look. "Hello in there?" She asked sarcastically. "What're you thinking about?"

Ben got from his butt to his knees and leaned in, examining her eyes. Though foggy, they were the same eyes he'd seen from across the courtyard today. He shook his head as Mal withdrew a little. "You bought me today," he whispered.

"I did?" Mal wondered. Ben saw something steely behind her gaze.

"You did," he affirmed. "And you kept my friend safe. Thank you."

Mal scowled. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she declared, getting to her feet. Ben shook his head and sat back down against the wall.

"No, you do," he whispered and watched the steel behind her eyes go even harder.

* * *

In real life, the cell was cold and quite dark. A bright orange light was lit at the end of the hallway where a Guard sat, playing on his phone and standing up every so often to walk up and down the hall. Ben wasn't the only one in there. He shared the cell with two other wizened people, neither of whom he knew because they both came from the citizenry, not from the Heroes. Across the hall was someone who had feebly asked Ben a few questions about how things were back home. He'd left last year and the four people who had been purchased with him were all gone. This year, it looked like Ben was the only paid-for prisoner. The rest were people who'd broken Maleficent's laws or tried to arrange small uprisings or protests.

"How long do people usually last here?" Ben asked one who looked more personable in a whisper as he watched dew from the ceiling gather into droplets and fall to the floor.

The burly, bearded man shrugged. "Depends," he whispered. "She's still got a minion or two from the old times. If you stay under her radar, she don't seek you out. Shortest person lasted two days. Longest is still here. Most typically fizz out after eight or nine months.

"Does she eat people?"

"Sometimes. Only in dragon form or in special cases. Well… there was this one time… never mind."

"And this is the High Palace?" Ben wondered.

"Yeah. Beast's old place. They rent the rooms out and we do the upkeep. Maleficent lives on the entire bottom floor."

"And the purple-haired girl is her recruiter?"

People across the hall snorted as Ben's companions exchanged helpless looks. "Sure, kid," the person who'd been talking to him nodded. "Close enough."

"Does she come down often?" He wondered.

"Not really," the man shook his head. "No one's really sure what she does. All the higher-ups know her, though."

"Weird."

A drop of water fell from the ceiling. A sneeze began to tickle his throat. He wrinkled up his nose. "Ah-choo!" He exploded, and three soft "bless you"s came from down the hallway. The light down the hall suddenly seemed very bright. Ben sniffled and closed his eyes. A short nap. A short nap was all he needed.

"Could you wake me up if anyone comes down?" he whispered.

"Sure, kid," the same gruff voice as before assured him. "Get some rest."

* * *

The world was still foggy when he left dreamland. Someone was shaking him. The world was very, very cold and his head was very, very warm. His nose was plugged and his frame was shaking and he couldn't stop it.

"Hey, kid!" someone called to him. Their voice sounded distant. Ben tried to pry open his eyes but one seemed to be glued shut and the other couldn't focus on anything. A headache began banging on the inside of his brain. "Listen, I know you're out of it, but you gotta get up because someone's coming down the stairs now."

"Guys, quit. He's wasted. Best thing to do now is to let them take him."

What did that mean? Where were they taking him? Why? Ben opened his mouth and a delirious, pain-ridden moan escaped.

"Ah, shoot. Look at him. Poor kid can't even move. He's done."

The door at the end of the hall opened. Ben scrubbed his fingers along the floor, trying to lift his head a little as he heard footsteps. Someone was speaking to the guard at the end of the hall. A cell door opened, followed by loud talking that made his ears ring. His left ear felt like it had been filled with a load of hot air. His hearing from it was fuzzy, like he was underwater.

Someone stopped in front of the cell. Ben glimpsed purple boots. "What's wrong with him?" someone achingly familiar snapped.

"We don't know, Lady Mal," one of his cellmates whispered. "He's been asleep for a long time. Maybe he just needs to-"

"He's sick, you moron," the other snapped. "He started running a fever after he was dropped off. Kid's been a furnace since then."

There was a long moment of silence. The cell door opened, and Mal barked: "Out. You'll be in the courts today. I'll get someone to come down and get him."

What did that mean? Was he being thrown out? Were they going to wait for him to die?

The other men stumbled out and the last few cell doors were opened while Ben's was left hanging ajar. Mal gave orders to everyone. Before she could go back out past the guard, though, she slipped back into Ben's cell. He was lying in a half-curled heap against the wall of the cell, shivering face-down with his legs bracing himself against the ground. She rolled him over. She was either exceptionally strong or he was embarrassingly light. He was starving, so maybe the second option held some faith.

She brushed black off his face and frowned as she examined him. He examined her right back. Her green eyes held something there… worry. That was a look he hadn't seen before. He sneezed and then coughed and then whispered with a lot of heavy breathing in between words: "You look like someone killed your goldfish."

For a second, Mal looked angry with him. Then, he watched her draw a mask over those emotions until all he saw was false confusion. She stood back up. "He's delirious!" She told the guard, who was standing at the doors with the keys in his palms. "Useless. I'll send someone down for him in about ten minutes. Just stay here and guard him." The man nodded and said nothing while Ben groaned and curled into a heap. His left eye was throbbing and swollen closed. His left ear had started to thrum with pain. Just his luck that he'd get sick right off the bat.

It seemed like eternities before Mal returned with a complaining boy behind her. Ben recognized the boy – it was Jay, again. The boy whose father ran a store. The boy who had taken Audrey. He kicked Ben's arm to make him unfurl it and then hefted up his shoulders. Mal took his feet. They bickered down the hall, though Ben's head hurt too much to discern the conversation. He only recognized when Mal's tone went from joking and patronizing to commanding and serious.

"No, Jay, we're not taking him to the coffins yet."

"Mal, he's wasted. It hasn't even been three days yet and he's gone. Doesn't matter who he is – he's gonna die eventually. It'll be better for him like this."

"No, Jay."

"Then what? Medical center? If your mom hears you took a servant there, she'll go dragon. Or are you just gonna toss him into a dumpster somewhere?"

"Up here."

He was carried for what felt like months. Jay's hands were rough and unforgiving in his shoulders. Mal's were sturdy and steadying on his ankles. Finally, he heard Jay give an incredulous laugh and then a door opened.

"Over here," Mal commanded.

"The bed?" Jay snorted. Ben couldn't find the strength to open his eyes and see what he was talking about. "Listen, Mal, I respect your feelings, but don't you think he's a little too sick to be fun?

"Just leave him here," Mal snapped. Ben felt them heft him up higher and then drop him onto something that immediately gave way a few inches under his weight. He moaned as he felt the liquids in his ear shift.

"He's a mess," Jay snickered. "How long do you think he'll last?"

"Pay attention," Mal snapped. She lowered her voice dramatically. "If anyone asks, I lent him out to EQ. She's so busy looking at her own face that she'll never know if he was there or not. The fact he's here doesn't go beyond you or I, got it?"

"I don't get it, Mal," Jay sighed. "What's so special about him?"

"He was going to be king," Mal replied flatly. This response only made Jay laugh even more.

"So what? It's not like he has any power now. Barely anyone knows him."

"I don't want him turning into a rebellion. If word happened to get out… I don't want more drama."

"Hmm. Sure."

"What?"

"I think you think he's hot."

"Oh, yes, because ear infections and fevers are very attractive." He could feel Mal rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Just keep this all on the down-low and you and I won't have any trouble."

"You know, you wouldn't be the first person to buy someone for enjoyment. Just sayin."

"Get out, Jay."

The door closed. All was silent. Then, a burning hand passed over Ben's forehead. He moaned again and heard Mal mutter "as if" under her breath before she walked away. He heard water running. A cool cloth was laid over his forehead, and another over his neck. A third wiped gingerly at the stuff gluing his eyes shut before Mal tilted his head to the side to examine his ear. An infection, she'd said. That was certainly an idea, but he must have something else wrong with his eye.

They didn't say anything to each other. Ben fell back asleep soon after.

* * *

A collection of items sat on the table. Notably, a cooling broth that was probably the thing that had woken him up. Ben groaned and wrestled the sheets binding him to the bed until he'd managed to get his elbows underneath him. Someone took his shoulder and a hand appeared on his cheek. It wasn't a pale hand – it was someone tan with manicured hands. A pair of blue eyes swam into his vision.

"Can you hear me?" The mystery person asked.

Ben let out an incorrigible moan and dropped his head back into the mattress. The mystery person pulled him back up and helped him to roll onto his back. Ben realized, at some point during this exchange, that she was a female. "Can you eat anything?" She asked.

"Maybe?" His voice and lips cracked with the effort of moving. His ear thrummed as he groaned.

"Well, we need to get something into you. When was the last time you ate?"

"Don't 'member."

She brushed off his eyes with a cloth and muttered under her breath. He didn't pay attention as she tossed the rag out and then slowly hefted him up into a half-sitting position. Then, the door opened, and Ben groaned as a bunch of new voices clouded his fuzzy ears. When he heard Mal snapping over the other voices, he balled his fists up in the sheets and tried to sit up, opening his eyes as he did. The world was still swimming, but he could see more clearly now that the new girl had wiped his eyes off. He could see that she had vibrant blue hair – which immediately gave him a name. Evie, Mal's best friend, had blue hair. Across the room, he saw a blur of purple heading towards them.

"He's awake?" Mal asked, raising her eyebrows. Her eyes lit up a little to keep his attention easier as she seized his chin and examined his eyes.

"Yeah, but he's out of it," Evie affirmed. "I was going to try and get him to drink this."

"Are you still taking care of him?" Someone shouted from across the room. "Geeze, Mal, just let him die."

Ben managed to catch Mal's hand as she took it away from his chin. He squeezed her hand, but Mal yanked it away. "Do you need help?" She asked Evie.

"Maybe?" Evie shrugged. "He seems to respond pretty well to you."

"No idea why," Mal disregarded the statement. Ben sank back into a pile of pillows that had been put underneath his head. Evie hummed and brushed her hand over his forehead. Her touch felt too cold, though he was starting to shake with cold. She turned, took the bowl, and held it to his lips as Ben closed his eyes again. The other people who had come with Mal were fighting in the back of the room.

"Go slow," she commanded, though it was hard. His stomach pinched. If he'd been in the cell for three days before being brought here, then this could be, at the very least, his fourth day not eating anything. No wonder he felt like crap.

"Thank you, Evie," Ben mumbled when he was finally left sitting back into the pillows.

"You're welcome," Evie said on reflex, then stopped. The rest of the room went still. Then, someone with a quiet voice started speaking.

"Did you tell him your name?"

"No," Evie shook her head. "Um, uh, kid? Hey, we're going to let you lie down on your front again so I can check that ear of yours."

Ben nodded and feebly attempted to help her budge the pillows aside, soon, he was lying flat again. It occurred to him that Mal was no longer standing beside the bed as Evie pulled out a little light and began to peer inside his ear. She took a bottle of eardrops from the nightstand and quickly treated his ear. Ben let out a sigh of relief as the pain ceased in his ear. Evie chuckled and took a seat beside him on the bed so she could keep checking on him. He moved his hand to pat hers where it landed beside his head and then wrenched his head up to peer at Evie. "Where's Mal?" he whispered.

Evie's brow knit together in confusion. "She went to hang up her coat," she said slowly, glancing over towards the door. "She'll come back in a moment."

Ben shook his head and buried his face into the sheets beside her leg. "She's not so angry when we're asleep," he mumbled against her leg. "She's got a pretty laugh."

Something thudded to the ground across the room and Evie took a deep, panicked breath. Ben couldn't bring himself to care about it much as he closed his eyes. Dreams were easier. Dreams made more sense.

* * *

Mal seemed tense and angry in this dream. She forced her smiles and kept her hands in her pockets. Ben could tell they were balled up in tight fists.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Mal said through clenched teeth. "You went away."

"You've seen me in real life," Ben shrugged in dismissal. "You can pretend, but I know."

Mal blinked as if she didn't understand what he was saying. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

Ben shook his head and glanced around the room. It was large, with white walls and generic flower paintings hanging on the walls. The bed he had been lying in the last few days had no headboards, white sheets, and a brown cover. It looked like a place someone would come to stay for a few days before leaving. There was a tiny kitchenette hidden in a little alcove, and three large closets around the room. An open door showed a bathroom that was mostly hidden from sight.

"This is nice," he complimented her. "I never got to ask – is this your room?"

Mal's face twisted before she drew a mask back over her emotions. "I don't understand," she said. "We always go to your place."

Ben snorted. "Listen, I appreciate how you're now pretending you're a figment of my imagination, but I know you. I know the faces you make. You can't hide from me."

Nothing. Not a flicker of recognition, of guilt, or anything. In hindsight, he shouldn't have expected one. She was as stubborn as he was.

"Besides," he continued. "You expect me to believe that you can tell me about Evie, your best friend, in our dreams and have that information remain true in real life, but you can't understand the concept of your room because you're now an imaginary person?"

Again, Mal didn't react. She only hummed and took a seat on a wooden desk, kicking her boots off her feet and onto the floor. "So, what's been new with you?" she asked.

Ben didn't buy the bait. "You already know," he whispered. "But I'll play your game. Let's see how long you can go without slipping up."

* * *

When he woke up, he was alone, but he could tell that someone was nearby. Ben reached up and brushed his eyes. They were no longer crusty and hard. When he opened his eyes, the world was bright but clear. His ears both felt like they'd been popped. He brushed his fingertips over his earlobes. The sound still felt underwater and they ached, but the worst of it was behind him. Now he was just exhausted.

A gentle hand brushed across his back. "Hello?" Mal asked cautiously, in a guarded tone. "Can you hear me okay?"

"Yeah," Ben affirmed, curling his head further into the sheets.

"Can you eat anything?" She asked, taking her hand away. He mourned the light, warm touch as his stomach pinched again.

"Yeah," he repeated and slowly sat back up. He heard Mal walk away. By the time he'd managed to get up and turn around, she'd turned with a tray of simple foods. A flask of broth, crackers, some mashed potatoes, and noodles. She set it down on the nightstand and crossed her arms as she waited for him to finish wrestling his legs out of the twisted sheets. She didn't attempt to help him as he took the broth first and starting sipping that. It was probably best to not try to eat too much right off the bat.

"How long-" he started to ask before his throat constricted and he had to stop to block off a cough. Luckily, Mal got the message.

"You've been up here for four days. Your fever broke the second day, but you've still been waking up every once in a while to talk to us and then fall back asleep." She walked back to the desk where she'd been sitting in his dream, kicked out the chair, and then sat on the tabletop whilst propping her feet into the chair. "Do you remember anything?"

Ben closed his eyes as he sipped on his broth and then slowly moved so he could put his legs over the side of the bed. "I remember someone with blue hair. And you were angry at her." He glanced over for affirmation.

Mal's mouth quirked up at the corners. "I wasn't angry. That's just my face."

"It's just your act," Ben corrected.

Mal frowned. "I don't think it's your place to define my emotions for me, Ben," she reprimanded. "I don't know how awake you are, but you're still a prisoner. Your parentage might keep you alive for a while, but don't expect to have any power around here."

Ben rolled his eyes, which immediately brought on a headache. Mal pinched her lips at him. He closed his eyes again. "Most of it is foggy though," he admitted, quickly forming a little scheme in his head. "Someone was saying you should throw me out… people kept touching my eyes and my ears. You said you hadn't met me before."

Mal tilted her head in thought. "Jay wasn't sure you'd make it out of your dip." She chewed on her lip and Ben knew she, too, had been worried. "He was the one who said we should just cut our loses. You had an ear infection, which is why you came down with your fever and everything so quickly. It's pretty common among the hicks. Your bubble has a very different pressure and coming from there through the trucks and into the city isn't good for them." She opened her mouth to continue, then a dark shadow crossed her face and Ben knew she'd caught his trick. "You also had an eye infection. I don't remember the last one. Must have been someone else watching you."

"How many other people have purple hair and glowing green eyes?" Ben countered. "And, by the way, do your eyes really glow, or is it just the gold flecks catching the light?"

Mal scowled. Her eyes took on a glow-in-the-dark look like lightning was flashing inside of them. Ben watched, entranced, until she let the light die. "That's very beautiful," he complimented her.

Mal wrinkled her nose. "Keep your thoughts to yourself," she snapped.

"You don't need to be so indignant," Ben told her.

For a moment, Mal's expression softened. She tilted her head to the side and let out a little breath as she watched him. He watched her right back until she blinked and snapped out of it. She hopped off the desk and walked to the door, where a purple coat with leathery black wings was hung.

"Wait!" Ben called, pushing himself off the bed and struggling a little as the world tilted to the right. Mal appeared at his side, wide-eyed, to shove him back down.

"Are you insane?" She snapped. "You've been sick for a week and haven't eaten in almost a full day. Stay here and eat your crap and don't try to get up!"

"Where are you going?" Ben demanded, trying to take hold of her arms. "I wanted to ask… is this your room? Where am I? Where can I find you?"

"You won't be finding me!" Mal snapped, shoving his hands away and pinning them to his side until he stopped struggling. Ben stared. Her harsh tone kinda… stung. She took several deep breaths and then ripped her hands off him. He didn't move except to poke his lower lip out a fraction. Mal watched him. Her gaze kept him as firmly pinned as her hands had.

"I want you to stay here," she murmured finally to break the awful, awkward, entrenching silence that had seized them both. "If you come looking for me, bad things will happen. Finish your food and if you feel well enough, go shower. If not, stay here." She turned and started to walk away again.

Ben's hands shook. "Mal?" he called, squinting through his headache. She stopped but didn't turn around. "Where am I?" he asked.

Mal glanced over her shoulder. "You're in the palace," she informed him softly, zipping up her jacket. "Maleficent is two floors down. This is the room always set aside for me."

"Your room?" Ben looked around. It was very white and very standard and not very… Mal. "It doesn't look like yours."

"I said it was set aside for me. I never said I lived here," Mal replied flatly. "Now, I have somewhere I need to get to." She tugged open the door and Ben had enough sense to not call after her while the door was open. She disappeared to the outside and Ben didn't move to follow her, though everything in his body ached to bring her back.

He managed to eat the potatoes before his headache grew too painful and he had to lie back down. With a mostly-full stomach and a half-clear head, he fell back into dreamland.

* * *

Mal flinched when he reached for her. He took her chin carefully, and she seemed even more repulsed. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked. "Why are you touching my face?"

"I'm just looking at your eyes," Ben assured her. He hummed as he traced his thumb down her jawline. He had never really touched Mal in his dreams. Only the occasional hug or handshake. Once he'd kissed her cheek and she'd been so offended(they were fourteen, the epitome age of awkwardness) that she'd tripped off his front porch and tumbled into his mom's mostly-empty flowerbeds and hadn't spoken to him the next time they'd dreamed of each other.

"That's disgusting," Mal grumbled, trying to tug her face back. "You're such a sap."

"You have a thing for saps," Ben guessed, distracted while he was trying to focus on her eyes. "I'm just trying to see if there're any differences between you here and you in the real world."

"Are there?" Mal asked sarcastically, relaxing a tad as she gave up her fight.

"I can't see any," Ben hummed, caressing the side of her face and then cupping her cheek. Mal seized his wrists.

"Okay!" She squeaked. "That's enough – enough contact! No more touching!"

Her high-pitched squeak finally ripped him out of his examinations. He smirked and let her go only to grab one of her hands instead. Mal's face turned beet-red. "Mpf!" she exclaimed, trying to tug her fingers away from him. He laughed and yanked her entire frame forward into his grasp, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up off the ground.

"No!" Mal protested, kicking her feet back and forth. "No, no, no! Put me down! Benjamin Florian, put me down right now!"

"You're so small!" Ben cackled. "Mal Bertha, merciless midget extraordinaire."

"Benjamin Florian, if you don't put me down right now then I'll-" she hissed and angled her kicks at his knees. He laughed and dropped, as per her request. She tumbled to the ground with another hiss. Then, hands braced behind her as if she were about to crab-walk away, she bared her teeth with a snarl.

Ben raised his eyebrows and resisted the urge to either burst into laughter or lean down and tickle her sides. "Ferocious," he snorted. "You're almost as mean as your real-life self."

Mal's face twisted in confusion. "Is my real-life self mean?" She asked.

Ben rolled his eyes. There wasn't any infallibility in her acting, but he still didn't believe her. "You try to be. I bet if you let me touch you, you'd probably be just as soft as you are here." He reached for her hair as if he was going to pet her head, but Mal dodged out of his way and hissed at his fingers. He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"So, if I exist in your world, am I a figment of your imagination, or have I just expanded on your purpose in my head?" Mal wondered.

Ben scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous," he commanded. "I know you're the same person you are when we're both awake. Neither of us are conjurations. You know you know me. I don't know why you're pretending."

Mal's face remained blank. A sick, twisting feeling arose in Ben's stomach. She was a very, very good actress.

"Does she know about me?" Mal asked, getting to her feet and brushing herself off. "Like, that you dream with me?"

"Mal," Ben snapped. He had enough headaches when he was awake – he didn't want any in his dreams. "Be quiet."

* * *

All was quiet when he woke up. Light was coming in through a half-open window. The fog was gone from his head.

Ben sat up slowly, testing his strength, and found more food had been left for him on the nightstand. He ate slowly, not wanting to overexert himself, and when it all stayed down and his headache didn't worsen, slowly climbed out of the bed. He waited beside it, holding on for balance until his feet got used to standing again and he could let go. Then he pulled the covers straight as best he could. They probably needed to be washed – he couldn't imagine how filthy they must be after he'd been lying there for over four days and the first day being spent with a high fever. Mal had said she didn't live here, and he hoped that meant she wouldn't be needing this bed.

He managed to make it to the bathroom with only two dizzy spells. He shut and locked the door so that he could shower and looked around. The bathroom was gigantic. Maybe only a few square feet smaller than his room at home. At home, they didn't have bathrooms attached to their homes. Three families shared one outside bathroom and they rotated whose turn it was to clean weekly. Ben supposed that here, it was done by minions, servants, or slaves like him.

He couldn't find any clothes but he did find one large, grey bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. His clothes were filthy – they were still the same clothes he'd left home in. Flattened against his stomach was the cloth with the pancakes that he hadn't been able to eat. With a disappointed sigh, Ben turned the stale cakes into the trash but brushed his fingertips over the cloth. This was something from home. Something his mom had given him. He still wanted it. So instead of tossing it out, Ben filled the sink with water, scrubbed it back and forth in his hands a little, and left it to soak.

Someone knocked at the door. "Ben?" Evie called from outside. "Are you in there?"

Ben immediately unlocked the door and offered the blue-haired girl a smile. Behind her, he saw Mal's shoulders fall in relief as she abandoned what he assumed was a search for him beside her bed. "Hi, Evie," he whispered. "I'm right here."

"Are you going to shower?" Evie asked, glancing at the few unbuttoned buttons of his shirt. "We brought you some new clothes."

"Oh?" Ben asked, taking a step forward. Mal snatched a pile off the bed and balled them up to throw to him. He caught them as she turned away flippantly, still incensed over his disappearance.

"Shoes by the door!" She snapped and began to fiddle with things on the desk. Evie exchanged careful looks between the two then nodded and turned away as well. Ben set part of the pile down beside the door – the socks and pants – and unfolded the shirt.

"Woah," He gasped, spreading out the short-sleeved, knit article. "It's blue!"

Mal and Evie both looked over at him in confusion as he held up the article with an increasingly bright smile. "I've never had anything blue before," he confessed. "I've only seen it in books."

"The sky is blue," Mal furrowed her brow. "And so is water."

Ben shrugged sheepishly. "We, uh, have a barrier. And the barrier makes the sky look green. And we don't have blue water."

"There's no lakes or anything inside the barrier, M," Evie reminded Mal as she began peeling back the covers of the bed. "Water only turns blue in large amounts. You have to have a certain amount because then the light is distorted when it enters it. When the light is distorted, color scatters through it and it appears blue."

"Really?" Ben asked, glancing over at her. "Water can be blue? Ours is usually brown or grey."

Evie paused and stared at him, looking very sad. "Yeah, it can be. Maybe one day you'll see a lake or something."

Ben looked down at the shirt in his hands. "Is it this kind of blue?" he asked.

"No," Evie shook her head. "That's a brighter blue. Sometimes the sky is that color."

"Go shower, Ben," Mal reminded him, taking the chair from the desk and shoving it aside. Evie nodded her encouragements, and so Ben turned and shut the door again.

Once inside, he had another revelation. The water here could be controlled by two knobs. One knob made the water come harder and the other made it come hotter. And it was clear, not grey or brown. It made sense since they were in the palace, but it was still an incredible feat.

Ben fiddled carefully until he found the perfect temperature in between 'Cool breeze' and 'standing in the sun'. Another few minutes were devoted to finding that perfect patter between 'soft downfall' and 'being covered with a blanket'.

The pajama pants had a woven pattern printed onto the fleece they were made of. They, too, were blue, but a much darker blue than the shirt. And they had gold boxes on them. He liked gold. Gold looked like sunshine.

Ben found a brush for his hair and rinsed his mouth out with some mouthwash he found on top of the toilet before finally opening the door and stepping back out. Mal was nowhere to be seen. The room smelled vaguely of aerosol when he stepped out. He wrinkled his nose as his headache returned full-force.

Evie had switched the sheets out to be blue and the comforter, which had also been taken away, was now white. Mal was standing on the desk to be tall enough to paint on the wall above the desk. The formerly blank wall was now covered in muted green, grey, and blue streaks with tape blocking off the bottom part of her project on different levels. The space already looked more like hers. He could almost convince himself he was in Mal's – his literal dream girl's – room with that stuff on the wall.

Mal looked over at him as he sat back down on the bed, wrinkling his nose. She nodded her approval at his still-damp hair and new clothes. Ben resisted the urge to fall over in the fumes and twisted his shirt hem in his hands. The blue color was crazy to him.

"What other colors haven't you seen?" Mal asked, drawing a blue streak into her hazy mess.

Ben shrugged. There were certain colors that he knew simply didn't exist much in nature. Orange, pink… but he happened to live in a dry climate where those colors were present in the surrounding rocks. Yellow he knew from the sunlight and flower centers and yes, from the rocks around his home. Green was the barrier and the weeds that grew on the sides of the roads and was often pictured with wide grassy expanses in children's books. Blue… the spines of books, and that was about it. It seemed to be a favorite color of the children outside the barrier, so blue was never sent in with any crayon or marker packages. Purple was another rare color, but Ben had grown up with purple. He had suspected, at first, when Mal first began appearing to him, the reason she had purple hair was because he had wanted to see some splash of that rare color. He would admit to trying to focus on switching her eyes to blue at one point when he was fifteen and feeling particularly miserable. He'd gotten sick of looking at the green of the barrier during the day and then seeing the same shade in his dreams at night.

Ben got up with a little difficulty, as the air was thicker around her, and caught a lock of her hair. Mal whipped around, stealing her hair back as she turned, and shoved him back. "What do you think you're doing?" She demanded.

"Purple," Ben gasped, pausing to cough as he landed back on the bed. "Purple."

Mal's eyes softened, but she kept her arms crossed and stance rigid. "Listen, let's set some boundaries here," she declared. "You do not get to touch me. You do not get to demand things of me. I'm still irritated by the fact you're using my name to address me. I get that being in this space has probably messed with your head, but you're still a prisoner here and the moment I'm sure you won't collapse again, you'll be back with the others."

Ben managed to stop coughing long enough to give her a hurt look. "You know me, Mal," he whispered.

"No, I don't!" Mal snapped. "I don't know what's got you so delusional, but I have no idea who you are outside of your parents."

"I know you know me!" Ben snapped back. "Can – can we open a window?"

Mal snapped her fingers and the two windows on either side of the bed whisked open. Every argument in Ben's throat died.

"How would I know you?" Mal demanded, oblivious to his shock. "How would I know anyone inside of the bubble?"

"You have magic?" Ben cut her off. "I didn't know that about you."

Mal rolled her eyes. "What do you know about me?" she snorted. "You've been here for a little over a week and conscious for about four hours as a whole, not counting that first half-hour, around me. What makes you an expert?"

"Our dreams," Ben told her, getting back to his feet. "Don't lie to me! I know you have them too. That's why you picked me in the marketplace. That's why you're so sensitive about me!"

"Are you mad?" Mal demanded, shoving him back. She looked bewildered and sick. "I picked you because you were strong and pretty – you're a toy for us to mutilate."

"Which is why I'm up here," Ben gestured around him. "Which is why you're taking care of me and trying to keep me alive."

"I didn't realize who you were!" Mal hissed.

"That's a lie," Ben sniffed. "You know me."

"You're delusional, still," Mal drawled. She turned away. "Just go back to bed. You still aren't thinking right."

"You want to believe that," Ben snapped. "You want to believe that this is all just me being insane because if we did have connected dreams – if what you know you saw is real – then there has to be something behind it. Something that connects you to me."

"You want the truth?" Mal snapped, and her tone was so brutal and honest that it made Ben stop and tilt his head. She turned back to him, put her hands on his shoulders, and pushed him down onto the bed. "I had no idea who you were when I picked you," she told him, slow and tone steady. "And if we send your parents the note you died less than a month after taking you, then the bubble folk will start suspecting outright murder and it'll make the entire process that much harder. You got put here because Maleficent doesn't want prisoners in the medical ward while other patrons are there. So shut up and stop assuming things about me. I have no idea about any dreams. I never saw you before I paid for you."

"You lie," Ben shook his head, searching out her face for any hint of a give. There wasn't any. She was completely serious and nothing in her tone betrayed a hint of dishonesty. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Well, if you choose to keep believing that, then it's your problem," she sighed. She sounded annoyed and exasperated like she just couldn't understand what he was trying to accomplish. Like he was the villain trying to confuse her. "Whatever. Just… keep your weird fantasies to yourself. I don't need to get pulled into them."

She turned away to continue painting. Ben sat still on the edge of the bed. For the first time… he was considering the implications if she didn't know what he was talking about. If her fascination with him at the auctioning had been because of his looks or something. After all, that had been Jay's theory. '

If she didn't know him, then she probably thought he was insane or obsessed with her. Which he might be. After all, how could you dream about a girl for more than half your life without ever knowing her only to discover she was real? Was it possible he'd seen a photo or something of her and his mind had conjured her up? But he would have had to have multiple photos… she had grown up beside him and looked exactly like her dream self with the added sense that she was physical.

Was it also possible that maybe… not all of the times that she'd appeared to him, they'd been communicating? Maybe she'd had a dream or two of him when she was younger, forgotten him after a while, and had only taken an interest in him because he was familiar?

Ben scooted back onto the bed and collapsed back onto the place he'd been resting for the last few days. "Am I still allowed to be here?" He wondered aloud.

"Not for much longer," Mal said in her stone-hard tone over her shoulder. "But for now? Sure." She paused, then turned around to him. "So, you said you'd dreamed of me, yeah?"

"I did," Ben agreed. "Not every night. But we talked. You grew up with me."

"What, was I your favorite wet dream?"

"No, never anything like that," Ben shook his head. Sure, he might have wondered things in the daytime, but never too far and nothing ever surfaced in his dreams. He'd always felt that it was wrong to see people like that. Using their bodies – their images – in ways that they would probably condone just wasn't right. "But I know things about you. I know you skip all your classes except for art."

It'd always hurt him when she'd talk about how much school bored her. He'd have given anything to go to school…

"I know that you shattered your kneecap trying to climb an elephant on your fifth-grade trip but you walked on it for the rest of the day so no one would know what you'd done."

Ben had never seen an elephant. She'd tried to describe one to him, and he'd tried to find one in a book to no avail. They were grey, with big ears, and large, but that was all he knew.

"I know you hated your purple hair in middle school and dyed it bright green instead."

That was the thing that had stopped Ben trying to imagine Mal with blue hair instead of purple. He'd missed the purple so fervently that he'd immediately ceased trying to imagine her with anything else.

Mal blinked at him slowly. She seemed mystified. She walked to the edge of the bed and picked up a water bottle, which she pressed into his hands. He assumed it was because he was because his eyes were drifting closed again as the last remnants of his headache turned into drowsiness and she wanted him to stay up. "So, you know who I am?" She asked softly.

"You're Mal," Ben deadpanned. "You're a smart aleck. You're sarcastic. You're my best friend." His eyes were feeling heavy again. He still wasn't 100% okay. Slowly, he put the water bottle back and laid back down on top of the covers.

"Do you know _who_ I am?" Mal repeated, putting particular emphasis on the word "who". A sense of dread filled Ben. She had to be someone important to be recruiting for Queen Maleficent. He swallowed.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

Mal squinted. "No, it doesn't," she replied and turned away.

Ben reached out for her and managed to touch her elbow before she moved too far away. "Mal!" He called and then leaned to pull her sleeve. "Stay."

"Stay?" Mal sneered. "With you?"

Ben caught her hand and pulled. She resisted, but he kept a tight hold of her fingers until slowly, she sat down beside him on the edge of the bed, looking ridiculously disgusted. It took a lot of effort, but he managed to twist his body enough to lie his head on one of her legs. Then, keeping careful to not touch her in too much of a provocative manner, he started tracing his fingertips in lines up and down the outsides of her legs. Mal shivered and looked like she might jump away. When he didn't do anything else beside tickle little lines on her calves and knees, she relaxed a bit. Then, slowly, her balled fists relaxed onto the sheets beside her hips and she let him rest on top of her. Ben continued drawing tiny patterns up and down her legs.

"Evie might come back soon," Mal whispered. "She's bringing you more clothes."

"Is this just my room now?"

"You kidding? We'll both be murdered if Maleficent finds you here. The clothes are so you can go back to the dungeons."

Ben's hands stilled for a few seconds. He pictured the dark cells with the cold stones and the dripping water. "Okay," he whispered dejectedly. He'd already asked Mal for a lot… he couldn't ask her to put her neck on the line for him.

Ben wanted to stay as long as possible in this soft spot with Mal. He didn't want to have to deal with the violent, snarky side of her when he'd only known the sarcastic, sweet side for so long.

He took her hand again and tugged it close to his mouth before gently pressing kisses against each of her fingerpads. Mal's entire arm was tense as she watched him with her mouth pressed into a straight line. He kissed her palm and she let out a squeak of a chuckle that she immediately covered up with her other hand. Ben looked up at her, wondering if he should take the opportunity to tease her, but instead pressed his mouth even tighter to her palm, kissing the skin of her hand and fingers over and over.

"What are you trying to do?" She wondered aloud, finally. She sounded almost offended or possibly confused as he let his mouth wander and obsess over her calluses.

Ben didn't respond. He only pressed his lips, which were beginning to feel a bit sore, to the lines in her palm for a very long, still minute. If he responded, she might have wanted him to stop. He didn't want to stop. This whole thing felt so fragile and electrifying and real. It was like the moment you dropped a glass – it had already slipped past your fingers and was accelerating towards the floor. All he was waiting for was the shattering sound of invisible splinters soaring in all directions. He was waiting for the inevitable, messy pain.

Ben guided his mouth back and forth on her palms and knuckles and joints. The more he worked his mouth onto her skin, the sorer it felt. The more the muscles in his cheeks ached, the softer her skin became against them. The heat from her legs sank into his neck and as he turned to set his chin against her leg. She smelt like paint and work and that different scent that girls always seem to have that isn't flowery or naturous but still somehow marked them as women.

He took her other hand without releasing the first and treated it much the same way, kissing the hardened skin until his mouth knew every blemish, hard spot, and pore of skin on her hands. In a way, it's like he was just reminding himself, because he's looked at her so often before that there's no way he can't know what her skin is like.

When the fog in his brain became too thick for him to think through, he stopped and nuzzled his face into the side of Mal's leg. He took her hands and set them on top of his head, where the weight eased the hammering headache in his forebrain. A laugh escaped Mal from above him. A real laugh, like she usually gave him in their dreams. She started combing through his hair, playing with the locks, and it felt comforting. He lifted his head to peer at her for a second. Her cheeks still burned with blush and she avoided looking away from the hair atop his head, but she looked more relaxed than she had since he first saw her in the marketplace. With the white walls, the paint on her chin, her back against the headboard and his head buried in her leg, she looked like someone his age for once. Maybe even younger. Not the overbearing, cross dame who'd been snapping at him lately.

He must have been stressing her out; appearing out of nowhere, getting sick, and knowing her as well as he does.

"I like you like this," he murmured against her leg. "I like you calm."

Her fingers only hesitated for a moment before continuing to massage his scalp. He savored every minute. After all, she wouldn't be like this forever.


	31. Green Eyes, Star Eyes pt2

Evie, Jay, and a boy with black-and-white hair who Ben suspects is named Carlos woke him up briefly when they slammed the door to the room after coming in from school. Backpacks hit the floor with thuds and then Carlos pulled a laptop out of his bag and went to steal the chair at the desk where Mal now stands, finishing her work. Ben kept his eyes closed and breathing steady. Just in case they wanted to talk about him with Mal.

He could feel when someone leaned down on eye level to check him and could feel fingers prop at his ear. "No more infection?" Jay asked, sounding surprised. "Huh. Maybe he'll pull through and then you can have your fun before he dies another way."

"Shut up or get out, Jay," Mal snapped from her place on top of the desk. He heard the sprintz of a spray can follow her words. "Something's wrong with him. He knows too much."

"Well, you kept him in your bedroom this last week instead of-"

"No, he knows about me!" Ben heard the rush of wind as she tossed the can onto the bed near his feet. "I'm not sure how he knows. At first, I thought he was insane. But he knows my name and Evie's name and he says that he and I have been meeting in his dreams."

"Sounds like an obsession."

"No, we're talking before this last week. As in, he knew me before I even picked him off the market. He thinks we've been having conversations in his head since we were twelve." He heard Mal jump off the desk with a thud. "He knows about me shattering my kneecap and dyeing my hair and he even knows that the only class I don't ever skip is art."

"How's that possible?" Carlos asked from the chair as he dragged it further away from the bed and used his toes to spin around in it. Ben listened to the sound of the screw spinning in the chair and tried to focus on keeping his breathing even. "Do you know him?"

"I didn't even know who he was when I bought him," Mal shook her head. "They announced he was the would-be king after I'd painted my symbol on him. I was just bringing him back for my mom because he looked like he'd be easy to break or at least useful in the palace."

"He's the would-be king?" Evie asked, voice high and shaking. "And he knows that you're-"

"He doesn't know who I am," Mal huffed, cutting Evie off. She stomped over to Ben's side. "Is he still…" She examined him carefully. Ben forced himself to keep moving his chest up and down slowly, keeping his eyes shut without squeezing the lids together. "He's still asleep. Keep your voice down."

"We need to get rid of him," Jay decided flatly. "You know we do, Mal. Especially now."

"Jay, I have no idea what's happening – he just appeared!"

"That's not what I'm talking about! Strange boy shows up from the bubble and knows you? Knows everything about you? There's got to be something deeper here – the kid is probably predestined for something like Briar Rose or Else or someone. We need to slit his throat and bury him in a ditch before that gift comes into play at all."

"I-I- We can't do that!" Mal protested.

"Why? Cause he's pretty?" Jay demanded. "Mal, you know how fragile evil reigns are. If something good gets out… any hope at all… everything Maleficent built will crumble. Are you really going to let that happen?"

"That's dramatic, Jay," Evie reprimanded. "Maleficent has her lands put together remarkably well. Sure, the people would like the king back, but so long as not too many of their children die and we can keep taking the hero children…"

"The heroes aren't having children anymore," Mal snapped bitterly. "Maleficent's talking about bringing some of them in to force them into servitude, but everyone's terrified about what will happen if we let them back in. It's easier to keep them all there… they don't inspire hope that way. No rebellion."

"Focus," Carlos snapped. "How does he know you? You never went with Le Feu, did you? Is there any chance he hallucinated you?"

"And knew all those things about me?" Mal snapped. "And he's completely convinced I was there with him! He's positive that I'm denying that I dreamt of him. I can't convince him, and if he happens to blurt it out where someone else hears him-"

"We should get rid of him now!"

"Guys!" Evie snapped and pointed at Ben's body. "He's awake."

Ben moved his hand across the covers, knowing his cover had been blown but that he could still fake having just awoken. He opened his eyes a crack and then glimpsed two piercing green eyes glaring down at him. He blinked up at her once, twice, and then burrowed further into the covers. He didn't say a word as he pretended to head straight back into sleep. Mal pulled the covers tight. He felt her eyes on him for several seconds longer as he began to regulate his breathing again.

"He hasn't remembered everything we've talked about around him the last few days," Mal whispered softly. "He's feeling better now, but there may be a chance he'll pass it off as a weird dream. Don't tell him otherwise. Don't take him anywhere. And for God's sake, don't let anyone hear him talking about me. If a rumor starts…"

"Just kill him, Mal," Jay sighed. "It'll be easier that way. Don't get attached just because he's clean and pretty. Just do it now and get it over with."

"Not yet," Mal denied. "We have to figure out about him first."

* * *

He was left alone for a long while. There wasn't anything for him to do, but there was some food on the nightstand. He ate and then began to tentatively search around for something to do. He opened drawers with great caution – he didn't want to root around Mal's clothes – but the room was drastically underused. All empty drawers with smooth tracks that were devoid of anything save dust.

He finally found a few somethings in the desk drawer. The desk itself was covered in spray paint cans where Mal had been painting on the wall. Ben was amazed to discover a painting of a gigantic palace towering in a city of green and purple-roofed buildings. Ben examined the foggy blue skies around the palace spires. What a talented artist.

In the desk was a pad of paper, two brand-new ballpoint pens, and a bible. Ben picked up the pad of paper and, after straightening out the covers, sat down to doodle. He wasn't nearly as artistically talented, however, so his doodles were comprised of sparse rhyming words and meandering notes on what he'd been feeling for the last few days. On a blank note sheet, he wrote a letter to his mother and father. Maybe when Mal returned, he could convince her to let him send it. He never would have dreamed he'd be able to ask his captor for such a favor but had a feeling Mal would begrudgingly allow it.

Ben had always been a fan of blissful poetry, and so he transcribed a few lines and then recopied the best ones with his nicer handwriting and that was how he passed the time until there was a yell down the hall that made him jump. He put the pad and paper down and walked towards the door moments before it was flung open. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Mal were all huddled into the doorway. Jay shoved him back and, after everyone was inside, slammed the door.

"Shoes?" Jay demanded.

"Door," Mal snapped, shoving Ben back over to the bed and withdrawing a dirty rag from her back pocket. As she held it up to his face, Ben caught her wrist.

"What's going on?" He asked. Her eyes were wide and her hand shook in his grasp. "Are you in trouble? What's wrong?"

She slapped him. Slapped him so hard his ears rang. "Don't touch me!" She snapped. "Hands down – we're putting this on your face."

Jay appeared with Ben's shoes, which had been cleaned at some point since he'd come here. He knelt and began shoving Ben's feet into the shoes. Mal brought the rag to Ben's face, but her hand was shaking so much she could scarcely control it. Evie budged her aside and took the rag. "I got him," She assured her in a calm voice. "Go calm down. You still have to take him down."

Mal nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Evie carefully began to smear the rag over Ben's face and neck. Jay finished with Ben's shoes and popped back up. "Should I punch him?" He asked and Ben blanched. "He might have some swelling and a bruise by the time he gets down."

"Let's not take chances," Evie shook her head. "She might notice that it's recent."

"What's going on?" Ben asked. "Where are we going?"

"Guys!" Carlos snapped from the doorway. "We have two minutes."

"Mal!" Evie called, dragging the rag over Ben's nose. It smelled like dirt and motor oil. "Come on!"

Mal reappeared. She looked even more frantic than before as she marched over and she and Jay yanked him up. They both took tight holds of his hands and pinned them to his sides. Mal set an arm on Evie's shoulder as they began to walk away. "Get some stuff," she commanded in a grim tone. "As much as you can!"

Carlos followed them out and down the hall. They practically ran. The palace started nice and orderly and clean, but then slowly things began to fall apart. Chips appeared in the sheetrock. Paintings were ripped and molding. Doors swung from one hinge instead of three and lights flickered ominously.

Mal shoved him into a hall and then Carlos dropped the backpack around his shoulders and withdrew several long chains. Ben gawked at them. "You're not serious!" He sputtered.

Mal gave him a truly apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ben," she whispered. "You're going to have to wear these for a little while."

"Don't be a sap," Jay demanded, shoving her shoulder. "Just get them on. He's still a prisoner. If he doesn't comply, then you'll barbecue him." He glared at Ben to make sure he got the point. Then he quickly locked shackles around Ben's legs. Mal picked up one for his hands with a deep breath that Ben echoed without a second thought.

He offered her his wrist. She carefully clamped the cold metal around his wrist. As she took her hand away, he caught her fingers and squeezed. "I'm trusting you," he whispered.

"Well, then you're an idiot," Jay snapped, clicking the last one onto his wrist. He yanked on the chains, driving Ben forward, and they continued. Carlos stayed behind this time, vanishing into the shadows.

They rounded a corner and Ben could hear laughter. Laughter and jeering and maniacal screaming. He slowed his steps, but Jay shoved him forward to the large black door at the end of the hallway. Then he forced the chains into Mal's hands and shook her shoulders. "You do what you have to," he snapped. "You take him in and you make sure you get out alive. He_ doesn't mean anything_."

"What's going on?" Ben asked. Jay didn't look at him as he turned and stalked off the way they'd come. Ben turned to Mal. "Mal?" he whispered.

Mal was becoming a statue before his eyes. She clutched the chains tightly and stared straight ahead as she raised a hand to knock on the door. "I'm sorry, Ben," she whispered. "Maleficent has requested to see you in person. If anyone asks, you've just come from the Evil Queen's lair."

Ben's blood ran cold. He finally understood – this was out of Mal's hands.

She knocked by banging on the door with the underside of her fist. A green glow overtook the doors before they slammed open. The room on the other side was one of the most horrible that Ben had ever seen. Pitch black walls and grey stone floors that were splattered with old brown and fresh red stains. Maleficent's court was arranged like a performing stage with the Mistress of all Evil standing in the center of the room, laughing as she turned to see her latest toy enter. Slumped against the wall of the colosseum-like setup was another person's body. Ben couldn't' tell if they were alive or not. Maybe they had come from the heroes – from the bubble – but he didn't recognize them. The stands behind the barrier walls were filled with villains. Some of them he recognized. Gaston and Le Feu sneered while Mother Gothel and Hans looked on in interest. Behind everyone hung bloodied weapons of war. Ben spotted a chipped war ax and felt like throwing up.

Well, what a spectacular way to die. Led to death by the girl of his dreams.

Mal stepped forward and pulled him in behind her. The smell of metal and sweat was so overpowering Ben wanted to throw up. Mal pushed him into the center of the room, letting out a maniacal laugh of her own before passing his chains to Maleficent. "Here he is!" she laughed. "As promised. The would-be King of Auradon."

The courts burst into laughter as Ben closed his eyes and dipped his head to the ground. He heard the shake of chains before he suddenly found himself on his knees in front of Maleficent with his knees stinging. He looked up long enough to watch Mal lean back with a nonchalant, amused smile at the show. Traitor.

Maleficent took his chin in much the same way that Mal had when examining him that first day and laughed so that spit flew into his eyes. "He looks just like his father!" She announced. "How fortunate! You picked a good one, Mallie."

Mal straightened up and smiled even broader. "He's a fun one," she promised, though she had no way of knowing that. "He's especially handsome when he's begging for mercy. So leave me some leftovers to play with." She ran a hand through his hair and it would have been comforting if Ben couldn't feel the scratch of her nails all along his scalp.

He knew her. He knew she didn't like this. But that was a different Mal. A Mal who knew him. A Mal who liked pretty rocks and sarcasm and not _this_.

He'd been wrong about her.

Mal curled her fingers in his locks and he took a sharp breath, screwing his eyes shut at the pain. "Promise me you'll leave him alive for me?" She asked the Queen of the Land. "I'd hate to lose my latest playmate."

"He'll be intact," Maleficent promised, releasing Ben's chin. "I can have my fun without killing him." She reached over and curled her fingertips down Mal's face in an act so intimate that Ben blanched away from it. "You did good, pumpkin," she cooed, and the waved her fingers to dismiss Mal. Mal turned and walked over to where Maleficent's legendary obsidian throne stood against the wall. Beside it was a smaller, silver throne of platinum. And there she sat, beside Maleficent's throne, with no crown on her head and no one else remotely close to the throne.

Oh.

Mal. Mal. Maleficent.

It took a moment for that information to sink in. Mal was the daughter of the High Queen. The same place Ben would be if his parents had managed to create Auradon.

And she didn't know him.

The details were a bit foggy until Maleficent's laughter brought him back to earth and he found out that, while he'd been staring at Mal and processing this new information about his childhood companion, the chains girding his arms had been strapped to the ceiling and his feet wrapped around iron stays on the floor. Ben looked around the crowd. Beside a man with a colorful red parrot sitting on his shoulder was Jay, stone-faced and arms crossed. Carlos sat beside a woman with curly black and white hair with dalmatian pelts covering her shoulders. Evie was nowhere to be seen, but Ben glimpsed a few empty seats here and there.

Maleficent took his face in a passionate manner than had him leaning back and gasping for breath. "You would have my throne, wouldn't you?" She cackled. "You would want the villains locked away, just like your parents? Just like how we locked you away?"

Never. Not now. No.

Ben took his eyes off Maleficent and cast them over to Mal, who was examining her nails as if bored. Intense anger flared through him. "Look at me," he demanded without a single word as hot tears stung his eyes. If he could communicate with her through dreams, there wasn't any reason he shouldn't be able to talk to her while awake.

Mal didn't look over. Because she didn't have his connection. She couldn't hear his thoughts.

Still, he repeated the mantra. "Look at me."

Maybe it was chance. Maybe it was because Maleficent had done something beside him that drew her attention. But either way, Mal glanced up and their eyes locked. He grabbed the chains that were binding his wrists for extra strength, straightened as best he could, and held her gaze.

The first blow fell. A heavy crack that forced a gasp out of his chest. He would have fallen forward if he could have. As it was, his spine absorbed most of the blow as Ben forced Mal to hold his gaze.

It was some sort of multi-stringed weapon that sliced the shirt Evie had given him open and left blood dripping on the floor. He could hear Maleficent's voice, but couldn't make out what she was saying. All he was focusing on was Mal's green eyes as she looked on the show.

A second blow fell. Then another. Good, old-fashioned whipping. At four, he was hanging by his wrists. He wondered how long until he passed out. If he would be allowed to pass out.

Maleficent quit after ten when Ben was already seeing stars, and Ben released Mal's gaze to close his eyes a moment. Maleficent was still screaming at him. He wasn't sure she was expecting a response or not. He caught things about his parents – his dad in particular – that probably would have stung a lot more if he was coherent.

Someone moved on the side of the room and Ben almost had a heart attack when he saw Chad step out of the shadows. His old friend was much, much thinner than Ben was, with grey patches on his hands and face as he reached for Ben's shoes(he assumed at Maleficent's order) and tugged both him and his sock off. Someone lifted a bloodied knife off the wall in the back and Ben turned to find Mal again. She had looked away and was hiding her face in the shadows, staring towards where Jay was shaking his head at her in the crowds.

_Look at me._

She didn't glance over. Maleficent took the knife and brandished it into the air. She seemed drunk as she teetered around the circle, laughing her head off with her eyes clouded over in insanity.

_Look at me._

Maleficent almost tripped on her way to Ben as she waved the knife. One missed slice and he'd be bleeding out.

_Look at me._

Mal finally glanced over and he hardened his gaze as she froze beneath his eyes. It was probably inevitable that he would have ended up here at some point. From the moment this demented system had begun, it was inevitable that Maleficent would want to meet – and torture – the child of the people who'd conspired against her. And it was not Mal's fault that he was here now. If anything, she'd probably delayed the inevitable. He shouldn't be holding this against her.

But it was rather hard to convince himself of that when Maleficent bent down and chopped one of his toes clean off.

Don'tyelldontyell.

Ben squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the burning, stinging wounds in his back as Maleficent cut through the bones to free his pinkie toes from both feet. He clenched his hands, knowing they'd probably be next.

It wasn't though. Maleficent wiped the blood off her knife using his foot and then cut the remnants of his shirt off. The back, which had been cut into ribbons by the whip, had dried a little. When Maleficent yanked it away, she pulled away skin with it. Ben hissed in pain. Again, he sought out Mal's cold, dead eyes. Her cheeks were devoid of color as he searched her blind gaze for any ounce of comfort.

Maleficent sliced a thin line across his chest that wasn't even deep enough to draw blood before handing the knife to Chad and kicking his severed toes away on the floor. Ben saw Mal flinch away. He was so distracted by her trying to distract herself that he missed the motion where Maleficent dug her fingernails into the cuts she'd just made. Then she pulled and he yelled.

Sheets of what looked like leathery parchment paper were ripped straight off his chest with a sound like Velcro being ripped apart. She waved her hands back and forth twice. Ben thought she might be flaunting the skin, but no. It had gotten stuck underneath her nails. Oh, he was going to be sick.

Mal kept her arms crossed as she examined the ground. Part of Ben wanted to yell for her. Part of him never wanted to see her again. Oh, goodness, couldn't she just _look_ at him?

She lifted her eyes as Ben felt his world catch fire. Literally. Maleficent had summoned a torrent of green flames at his bleeding feet. He screamed.

He was going to die here. Mal's mother was going to murder him. This was it.

The flames suddenly went out, and Ben took a literal sigh of relief as cool air brushed past his blackened skin. He looked over at Maleficent to see what was next, but then Mal began to speak from the head of the throne room.

"Mom?" She called, sounding annoyed and reprimanding. "Don't forget – I want him alive. If the shock kills him, I'll still be upset."

Maleficent gave a little smile as the rest of the court jeered and laughed at Ben. "Of course, darling!" she exclaimed, drawing a finger down Ben's chest and making him writhe a little more. "You know, he's not as much fun as you claimed. Too stubborn." She dug her nails into Ben's thin skin and drew blood as she raked them down his chest. Ben let out a few loud gasps that were padded by sobs. He hadn't noticed that his face was wet.

Mal shrugged. "Maybe he's getting used to me," she mourned, getting off her throne and wandering over to her mother. Maleficent released Ben as Mal – his owner – drew closer. She took his face in a false caress. "A few days alone should fix it. Right, Benny-boo?"

That nickname set off all sorts of alarm bells in his head. He pulled his head away from her hands. The last thing he wanted was for Mal to touch him right now. At the same time, the only place he wanted to be was in her arms with her fingers going through his hair.

The chains were dropped. Ben shouted as his feet hit the ground. Maleficent kicked his side without a care. "He's quite lucky he looks the way he does," she hummed. "Most of his friends don't leave this intact."

Mal didn't comment as she walked on past Ben, leaving him on the bloody stone floor, trying to keep conscious as Chad appeared, looking green, to pick off the two toes that Maleficent had cut off and put them into a basket hanging by the door. Ben could see a partially molding full arm before two people picked him up by the shoulders and began to drag him away. One of them was Jay. He didn't know the other but assumed they must be another villain child of relative importance. Mal left the room behind her mother as everyone else began to vacate the premises. Jay and the other villain kid dragged Ben out. He cried out as his feet caught and banged against stones. They took him down the hall and around a bend before Jay dismissed the other and pulled Ben into his arms. One more corner and Mal appeared. She swayed in and out of his vision as she ran a hand down Ben's cheek, examining his eyes.

"Shock," she told Jay and her voice sounded far away. "We have to get him to Evie."

"You've gone soft," Jay reprimanded. "What you did with your mom was risky. We ought to ditch him now."

"Evie," Mal repeated, even firmer. She cupped Ben's cheek and lit her eyes up, trying to keep his focus. "Ben? Ben? Can you hear me?"

Ben wrestled his pinned hands to put one over Mal's. She almost pulled away, but he seized her fingers. His wrists and arms were sore and stretched. He pulled her on her hand and twisted his neck carefully until he was able to press a kiss to the middle of her palm. His stomach twisted. Her eyes filled with tears.

* * *

There were no dreams.

* * *

When he woke up, his head was on Mal's lap. Her fingers were knit into his hair and she was crying softly. He couldn't hear much besides the occasional sniffle, but he could feel her chest shaking and felt his hair move with each tortured breath. He traced his fingertips up and down the outsides of her legs to alert her to his wakefulness and then kissed her knee carefully.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

He listened to her consider the question. Finally, she shook her head. "I'll be okay," she promised. "I… I understand if you hate me."

Did he? Ben's fingers trembled a little on her leg. "It was probably inevitable she'd want to see me," he whispered. "At least I was given to someone who didn't let her kill me right off the bat."

Mal gave a dry, heartless chuckle as he buried his cheek into her leg. "Are you… in any pain?" she whispered.

Ben blinked at the question, remembering his burned feet and mutilated toes. He suddenly realized he couldn't move his legs and pushed his body up to stare at his lower body. His legs were still there, bandaged white, but he couldn't move them. "What'd you do?" he asked curiously.

"I-I just…" Mal shrugged. "We didn't want you to be in pain."

"Well, what did you do?" Ben asked, lying down on her again. He had the urge to wrap his arms around her legs like he would a pillow but felt that would be 'saying' a bit too much. Mal brushed all his hair to one side as she examined the texture of it carefully.

"Just a spell," she whispered. "Just a spell to remove the pain. We used to use it when we were younger."

"Ah," Ben nodded. "Yeah. You used to get hurt a lot."

Mal pushed her hands across his forehead as if she were slicking his hair back. "I did. Yeah. But apparently, you already know all that."

Ben looked up at her. There was this look on her face as if she were trying to learn everything about him. Not the way he looked, but just the way he was. As if she didn't already know every feature.

"I never thought you were real," he whispered. "Because I'd never seen purple on hair and because you weren't as nice as everyone around me. You got nicer, but I always thought you were just someone my mind created."

Mal stopped playing with his hair and played with the ends of her own. She didn't say anything though, and that led Ben to keep going.

"I used to try and turn your hair blue. Because I'd never seen blue before. Only in some books."

At that, Mal burst into laughter and leaned her head back against the headboard. Her hands buried themselves in his hair again. He wished he'd thought to have his mom cut it before he left because now it was too long. But she seemed to like it, so that was that.

"I guess that means you like Evie," Mal mused. "Maybe I'll consider dying my hair blue on a whim one day. Purple is my natural color, but hey, it's always fun to have sporadic changes."

Ben shook his head and reached up to twirl the ends of her hair. She withdrew, then apparently realized that if she was going to play with his hair, she should at least let him touch hers. He took the ends of hers and turned them around in his fingertips. "I like your hair," he whispered. "I was just being spoiled and ungrateful."

"Ungrateful? For my hair color?"

"For just… you. All of you. The culmination of you."

"You're a sa – poet."

Ben shrugged and let go of her hair. He made to lay back down, but he'd moved up enough that he was now lying on her stomach, not her legs. He paused, examining her carefully to see if she'd be comfortable with the new position, and when she didn't protest, closed his eyes to focus on the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

"If I were a crayon, I would be blue, the rarest of all while stretching across the horizon. Untouchable while never out of sight."

The words were beautiful, but that wasn't the reason Ben pulled his head back off of hers and looked up at her. "I wrote that," he told her. "How do you know it?"

"You left your poetry on the bed before we left," Mal blushed. An actual blush that made Ben's mouth fall open. "I walked in and Carlos and Evie were reading it aloud while watching you. I should have known that you would be a poet."

"That one wasn't even one of my best," Ben shook his head. "It was just ramblings because I'm obsessed with blue."

Mal pulled her legs out from under him and swung them off the bed. "Look down," she recommended as she got up. Ben did, noted the blue pajama pants with a thrill of excitement, then watched her pull a little stack of notebook leaflets off the desk. She cleared her throat. "I fought an endless rebellion against death until I discovered you wrestling at my side. Now, I fight for life, and your absence is my only night."

She glanced over and examined him like she was seeing him for the first time. "Do you just think this up?" She asked.

Ben shrugged.

"It's not about sweat or tears or words; fighting, tearing, sweet remarks. Love should not be made with swords; and things you hate shouldn't leave marks."

"Do you agree?" Ben asked, trying to deny the anxiety entrance into his throat.

"Love should not be made with swords?" Mal repeated in a cheeky, amused tone. "That might be the sappiest thing I've ever read."

"So, you like it?" Ben asked.

Mal only rolled her eyes and shuffled papers around in her hands until her expression solemnized and she leaned up with a leaflet in her hands. "Your body is cloaked with my imprints; sketched out over your soul. Colorful hair dropping over my shoulder; a beautiful battle to become whole. There's no barrier of ambiguity in the depth of our pains. Throw your passion on my skin and let me trace my temper through your veins. I want to see the way you wish for me. Something deeper than feelings; more meaningful than homely. We color ourselves without explanation before anyone can see the marks on my heart. Our love is more than a random connection – more than the prints we leave when we part."

"You are a sap," Ben nodded, hiding a smile behind his fingerprints. "You like sappy, romantic things."

"As if," Mal snorted. She sat back down on the bed and handed Ben the pages of his work. He looked over the longest one – the poem she'd read aloud – with pride. He could see smudges of dirty fingerprints on the edges of the paper and was proud that they'd been liked. "Still, they're good. I'm surprised people who think like you still exist."

Ben shrugged. "My mother liked poetry. And she liked to read things out of the bible, so I know lots of fancy words."

"Belle," Mal nodded as if that made sense. Ben looked up.

"And Maleficent," he said in a rather pointed tone. Mal's face fell. "You never told me who you were."

"You never told me either?" Mal raised an eyebrow. "You're not entitled to knowledge about me."

"I was announced," Ben's mouth twisted at the corners. "Unless you're admitting now that you really do know me?"

Mal's expression turned from regretful to annoyed. She huffed. "Whatever, Prince Benjamin," she scoffed.

"Did someone tell you that Benjamin was my full name?"

"I assumed."

"Sure."

Mal twiddled her thumbs around each other with a deep breath to keep her calm. "I… do wish there was a way to dissuade my mom. She, uh, hasn't been the same since my father left her."

Ben hummed. "I didn't know Maleficent had a husband," he admitted. "Much less a daughter."

"She didn't technically have a husband," Mal shrugged. "She had a lover who she tortured just as much as everyone else now. But he got sick of the abuse, and so he left."

"I'm confused," Ben furrowed his brow. "Was he a prisoner?"

Mal shook her head and a blush sank into her cheeks. "No, no. He was just immortal and… well, this is weird, but I think he had a bit of a damsel streak. He liked being tied up and everything. But Mom had me, and she didn't like how… careful he was with me. She wanted me to be tough and he wanted to coddle me. So, whenever she saw him being gentle, she made sure to follow it up by knocking me around. And he left not long after that."

Ben exhaled. There was a lot of information there. "Were you okay?" He asked.

Mal gave him a weird look. "I don't really get attached to people," she replied, straightening her spine with a sniff.

Ben elbowed her with a snort. "For sure. Just prisoners from families that you know of from old stories. But, uh, that wasn't what I was asking. I was talking about… did she beat you after he left?"

Mal deadpanned. Her face looked a little green, which was odd against her purple hair. "She beats everyone, Ben. And I'm stronger because of it." She showed him her calloused hands. "I know some people think I'm broken because my mom hit me, but they really couldn't be further from the truth." An evil smirk lit up Mal's face and that blazing green color came back into her eyes. If Ben had been standing up, his knees would have gone weak. "Her plans worked. I am strong. Stronger than she thinks. Stronger than she is."

"If you're that strong, why aren't you in control?" Ben asked. "What's your role around here anyways? No one seems to talk much about you."

The light dimmed. Mal looked annoyed. She shook her head. "I don't want to explain it." She decided. "You don't need to know. I don't want to be lectured."

Ben sighed and looked down at his poems to shuffle them through. The stack felt much thinner than it had looked when he'd made it. And that's when it occurred to him that it was, in fact, thinner.

"Where's my letter?" he asked.

"Letter?" Mal asked, letting a look of calm pass over her face.

"To my parents."

"Parents?"

"Belle and Adam."

"Ah, them."

Ben waited. "Did you throw it out?" he demanded.

Mal shrugged. "Sort of," she hummed.

Ben stared at her. For a few seconds, he was too dumbfounded and angry to speak. Then he caught a spark of something in her eyes and leaned in closer to examine it. "You sent it, didn't you?" He asked.

Mal snorted. "You think I can send things to the bubble, Ben? That's flattering."

"I didn't get the chance to finish it."

At this, she dropped her front and sighed. "I signed it for you," she promised. "Carlos wanted to try out an invention of his, so we used your letter. No way to know if it reached them or not."

"Thank you," Ben smiled. "That's very kind of you."

Mal snapped away from him and looked as if he'd just spat at her. "Kind?" She repeated. "Did Maleficent hit your head while she was torturing you?"

"You are kind." Ben furrowed his brow up. "I'm not just saying that. I think that."

"It's amazing how you think you're the expert on me," Mal scoffed. "You think I'm kind and a romantic squish. You know how many people would laugh you off your soapbox?"

"You do like romance," Ben protested. "You like to be charmed. That's why, out of all the poems here I wrote about what's going on and what I think about the world and everything, you gravitated towards the few about you. Because you wanted me to talk about them. You wanted me to talk about you."

Mal was so surprised she sat back down and gaped for a few seconds. "I – I just thought they were the silliest…" She trailed off. "You wrote those about me?"

"Colorful hair dropping over my shoulder?" Ben prompted. Mal's face flushed.

"I knew I was just a good dream to you," She spat out.

"I was describing a hug."

"That's a convenient cover-up."

"Similar to you knowing my full name."

Mal shook her head stubbornly, staring at the wall. Her fists balled up against her legs. The tips of her ears were red. "Ben?" she sighed, digging her nails into her palms. "When are you going to accept that I have no idea who you are?"

Some sort of invisible demon with an icy grip wrapped its frigid fingers around Ben's heart. "I know you know me," he replied nonetheless and didn't bother to respond when Mal rolled her eyes and huffed in exasperation.

* * *

"We have to be careful," Carlos announced as he and Evie looked over Ben's burned feet. "If we do too much, Maleficent may catch wind of how quickly he healed."

"We've still got to be careful of how much we're suddenly using this room," Evie nodded. "And what we're bringing in."

Jay sits in a chair beside the bed, turning a jewel over in his hand. Ben hasn't heard the other man complain about how much care they're giving Ben for a while but suspects his feelings haven't changed.

Evie coats Ben's charred feet with a balm. Ben can't feel a thing. Mal's magic is still numbing all the pain. "So, Ben," she begins with a silken voice that reminds Ben of his mother reading poetry. "I've been wanting to ask you for a long time what you meant by Mal not yelling as much in her dreams."

"I met her in my dreams before I came here," Ben explained. All three look up with skepticism. "I didn't know she was real until I came here, but now I'm sure she knows me too."

"That's quite the claim," Carlos hummed. "Why?"

"Because she knew my name before I told her," Ben said. "And we had this inside joke… she said that I probably had a goldfish so we'd always joke about it dying. She reacted to it when I mentioned it."

"I think that was just the confusion," Jay shook his head. "Listen, man, we've been with her for a long time. I don't remember it, but my dad says I was right there when she was born. And she's never mentioned a reoccurring guy from the bubble in her dreams. I wouldn't read into your dreams too much."

Ben shook his head. "I think she knows me," he said. "I know her faces."

"You know a dream," Evie pointed out. "He's right, Ben. I don't think Mal knew who you are. She usually picks people for her mom… she probably was just trying to find someone and happened to land on you."

"She sought me out," Ben shook his head. "And right afterward, she saved one of my friends."

"Ah, the Aurora girl," Jay nodded. "Yeah. She's been helping out at my dad's shop. Cried a lot at first. Dad almost threw her out." He slipped the gem back into his pocket. "Listen, Ben, has it occurred to you that she sought you out because, and I say this as a mostly-straight male, you look good and you weren't whining? Because everyone else on the block was crying for their mommies and you looked bored."

Ben shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "I think she knows me."

All three exchanged sighs. It seemed that they, too, had given up on arguing with him.

* * *

"We're going to be moving you out of here as soon as your feet heal," Mal announced, dropping a full backpack onto the desk. "Evie and Carlos say most of your skin should have recovered by next week. You'll have to be careful on your back, but there's only so much time I can pull the EQ excuse on my mom."

Ben pulled out the desk chair for her and she plopped down. He'd been sitting on the foot of the bed, resting. He couldn't move around much, but any new place was better than being stuck in the same bed he'd been in for almost three weeks. "How much longer?" He asked.

"Hopefully not long," Mal pinched the bridge of her nose. "If she gets suspicious, then all five of our heads will be on the block."

"Why do Evie, Jay, and Carlos stick around, if they could get in so much trouble?"

"Loyalty. Could you be quiet, please?"

Mal forced her eyes back open and began to unload her stuff onto the desk. Ben realized it was mounds of homework. Books with dozens of papers stuffed into the spines, worksheets stapled together, the whole lot. He'd never seen homework before. How interesting.

He leaned forward and dropped his chin onto Mal's shoulder as she dug for a pencil or pen. She made a weird face at him and started to draw away before he whispered in her ear: "I don't want to go back to the cells."

Mal's hands stilled. He could feel her labored breathing underneath him. "Well," she choked. "I'm afraid you'll have to go. You need to blend in with everyone else as much as possible."

"Mal," Ben whispered, turning his head so his lips brushed her ear. "Please don't make me."

Mal shoved the backpack aside and ran her hands through her hair in defeat before shoving the closest pile further away from her. "I'm beat," she announced. "I'll figure out that… mess tomorrow." Ben watched her climb to her feet and stalk towards the window. She ripped it open and jumped up, swinging her feet out. He wasn't surprised – Mal and Jay both had excellent climbing abilities.

"Mal?" He asked before she could swing away and start heading home – to her real home. "Goodnight."

Mal rolled her eyes and huffed before shutting the window and climbing down out of sight. Ben waited until he saw a glimpse of green light on the grounds below and then returned to sit at the desk. He had to be careful of his feet as he hobbled. At the top of a stack was the outline of an essay she was supposed to write. A pencil had clattered to the floor. He picked it up, started doodling, and then found himself pouring over the details of the assignment.

Mal was so lucky she got to deal with all of this. Ben had never even seen a school before, and he'd never had any homework besides the challenges his mom assigned.

Surely she wouldn't mind if he took over a few things, would she?

* * *

"Claude Frollo said my last assignment was really good."

Ben looked up from the bible, which he'd finally pulled out to locate a few of his mother's favorite verses, as Mal dropped her backpack onto the ground. "Is that our way of saying thank-you, or your way of saying 'I know what you did'?" he asked.

"Thanks," Mal bit out like the word was hard for her to say. Ben snorted. "You're welcome," he said. "I never had school or homework back in the bubble. It looks kinda cool."

"You're insane."

"If I am, it's your mom's fault."

Mal sat down on the desk and peered down over the top of the book at where he was. "The song of Solomon?" She asked. "What's it about?"

"Basically Bible smut."

"No, really, what is it?"

"I wasn't kidding. The Song of Solomon celebrates love, not awakening love until it's ready, and is this heated conversation between two lovers." Ben shut the book. "And for the record, I wasn't reading the Song of Solomon. Because it's biblical trash and my parents and I share a mutual hatred for the section. The only reason it's included in the bible is for historical reasons. I was reading the last chapter of Ecclesiastes."

"Ah, is that the foreplay to the Song of Solomon?" Mal kicked her feet against the bed as she raised her eyebrows at Ben.

"It was written by a completely different author who likely had no idea he'd get put in front of the most doctrinally useless book in the bible," Ben slurred as he rolled his eyes. "Nah. Ecclesiastes talks about knowledge and wisdom, opposition in all things, and death."

Mal recoiled from him with her lips twisting downwards. "You are not going to die," She shook her head. "Listen, if Jay's been talking crap while I've been gone, I want you to ignore it. I'm not going to let Maleficent-"

"I'm not concerned with it," Ben cut her off. "And for the record, it's not like you can keep me for years and years if the other villain kids don't survive as long. People will start to talk." He cracked the book back open and then found the page he'd been on. "And I wasn't focusing on my own death. I was just thinking of my mom. She has a theory on what happens after we die."

Mal hummed and hopped off the desk. Ben kept talking. "The dust shall return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. She thinks that there's a difference between the two parts that make up us. One is carnal and one isn't. But they're trying to work together here. That's why we have drives to do what's wrong, but our heads tell us to resist."

He stopped then and paused to see if Mal was paying attention. She was still listening, but it was clear she didn't have all that much interest in the subject. He sighed and closed the book again. "Anyways," he trailed off and then glanced at her schoolbag. "Can I look through your stuff from school?"

Mal picked it up, brought it over, and plopped it on the desk. Ben immediately started pulling things out. "I've been thinking," she sighed, turning away so he couldn't see her face. "Maybe… I mean… Mom probably wouldn't have as big a problem with me keeping you closer to me if I made it sound like you were my…" She trailed off.

Ben paused as he opened her literacy book and then glanced at her back. "Your what?" He asked.

He could feel her blush through her back. "A toy," she replied. "If you were my toy."

"You mean a lover," Ben realized, and color crept into his neck. "You wouldn't really…"

"No," Mal shook her head. "But it'd be a good excuse to keep you away from everyone else. Cleaner. I could put you in one of the servant's rooms down the hall… I can't do a big room like this but-"

"I'm used to small rooms," Ben blushed. "Would… would I have to come down here to keep up the lie? Like, at night?"

"I usually don't sleep here," Mal shook her head. "You know that. I just come to the courts during the day and do my own thing unless Mom wants help. It wouldn't be hard to make it seem like you're being used. And, uh, I could say other things too. Mom wouldn't care if someone did most of my work for example." She nodded at the open book in his hands. "You don't have to do it all, of course, but-"

She coughed then and her face turned purple. "I don't know why I'm offering you the choice," she laughed. "I mean, technically I could just make you do all my work. Most of my stuff never gets done anyway and the teachers can't do anything about it. It just feels weird to, like, boss you around."

"I wouldn't mind," Ben shook his head. He didn't know what the alternative was, but so far homework and hanging out with Mal didn't seem like a hard deal. "What else?"

Mal shrugged again. She seemed very uncomfortable. "Evie, Jay, and Carlos would probably make you do stuff too," she whispered. "And the others, if they see you. Just… try and stay away from them."

Ben nodded. "Okay," he whispered. "I can handle that."

Mal nodded, and that was that.

* * *

Ben started to learn more about the palace then, as he had to go from place to place. He still couldn't move as quickly while his back and feet recovered, but he was able to go places, carrying papers back and forth. It was interesting because before, he'd seen the maniacal side of Maleficent. Now, he was seeing the business side. The side that examined which area of her kingdom needed which resources and allocated as such. He was often summoned to bring her food, supplies, or to take away her finished work. He wasn't allowed to look at it, but Mal was, and so he'd often get caught up on it anyways. Agrabah needed hard lumber and Arendelle needed rock. Villeneuve, which Ben knew as his mom's old home, also needed rocks to build a larger winepress.

His room was three down from Mal's and two away from Jay's, which was in the next hall over. Carlos and Evie also had rooms in the vicinity, but none of the Core Four tended to stay there often. Jay had to help out with his dad's shop, Evie was heavily involved in the courts with her mother, and Carlos tended to escape everyone and build inventions all by himself. Mal… he didn't know where she went to. Sometimes she was needed in the courts alongside her mom. Sometimes she went to her classes at school(usually to bring him stuff back). But most of the time she was gone and he had no idea where.

Ben saw other servants here and there, but none that he knew and only two former inmates of the Bubble, which by now he had figured out was slang for the prison where all the heroes were kept.

"Ben," Carlos announced one day, opening up the door to his room without a greeting or anything. Ben was sitting on his bed and pouring over the things Mal had let him steal from her backpack(She was careful now, not letting him see certain notebooks or her sketchpad), so it's not a big deal when Carlos drops a mesh of wires and metal plating onto his bed and kicks the door shut. "I need you to do something important."

"Yeah?" Ben asked, sitting forward. He can't lean very well yet, with his back, but if he shifted his weight then his purpose can still be accomplished.

Carlos pointed to a clean slot on the side of his machine that was a place for something to be plugged in. "I need a specific connector to make this work," he whispered in a low tone. "And I need you to get it for me. But you can't tell anyone."

"What's it for?" Ben asked.

Carlos shook his head. "I can't tell you that," he whispered. "But I'm going to draw a picture and you're going to go down to Jafar's shop and see if he has it. I can't be seen with something like this, but if you are, then it won't matter. They'll just assume it's for something in the palace." He took Ben's pencil out of his hand and then grabbed a paper.

Ben watched Carlos detail the inscription that should be on the cord, the type of inserts it'll have, and everything else about it. Then he handed it over and Ben tucked it into his pocket before getting up carefully. "Do you know when Mal will be back? I wanted to try and finish this before then so she doesn't have to double around in the morning."

Carlos stared at the ground. "She's with her mom now," he confided. "It'll be a while. She should be out before midnight."

Something about that statement and the way it was said made Ben's knees quake. Mal was often with her mother when Maleficent went over things for the kingdom. She often supervised when Maleficent's sanity fell through and she pulled all her advisors to the old throne room to torture someone she was annoyed with. But this somehow felt different. He just wasn't sure how.

Still, he took the paper and kept his hand over it in his pocket as he stumbled down the halls and out toward where guards were. Carlos gave him a list of instructions and a stack of bills before he left about where to go and how to act and how long to take. One of the guards, upon hearing Ben had been sent for a personal, undisclosable request, was assigned to walk him to Jafar's shop. This wasn't a problem, even when the guards whispered their suspicions about him under their breaths.

Mal hadn't needed to lay the rumor down about the way she'd supposedly been abusing him. She announced he'd be down the hall from her and after declaring to the courts that he was hers, everyone "put two and two together". It's been somewhat exhilarating and humiliating and haunting to hear the whispers that follow him wherever he goes. People seem to think he must bend to her will easily.

They opened the heavy doors and let down the drawbridge to the castle. And then the light was blinding. Ben squinted. He held a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. He stumbled over a rock with his numb feet. And then he glimpsed something breathtaking behind his fingertips.

The sky really was blue.

"Woah," he gasped, stopping in the center of the drawbridge as the horizon opened up before him. There were wispy white clouds here and there, but for the first time in his life he was looking up at an endless expanse of blue.

"You never seen a sky before, kid?" The guard snapped, ushering him forward.

"The sky inside the barrier is green," Ben mumbled as he walked forward. "I can't believe this much blue exists!"

The guard looked down with a frown like that wasn't an answer he liked and then pointed ahead. "Look there," he directed.

Ben did but wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to see. The castle was set on a hill, so he could see out over the tops of the houses and out toward where the land suddenly… ended. And then there was more blue, but a deeper color. And it looked like it might be moving. "What is that?" He asked. "Where did the land go?"

Was it alive?

"It's the ocean," the guard explained. "Can you smell the salt?"

He could. He could taste it too. And when he opened his hand in the air, it felt a little moist from all the water in the air. When he breathed in, he could taste salty water. The air inside the Bubble didn't have water in it like this.

The guard led him down the concrete path until the streets suddenly became cobbled. Ben stepped onto the stones, openmouthed, and then couldn't resist leaning down to brush his fingers against the path. A childish laugh escaped him. "I didn't think roads existed like this outside of books!" He laughed.

The guard was beginning to look sad. He walked behind Ben as Ben gawked at the shop signs hanging above painted doors with tiled roofs in many colors that reminded him of home. Reds and oranges and deep pinks. Most people spoke English, but Ben could hear some people speaking French as he walked by. "Is this Villeneuve?" He asked the guard as they walked past a bakery.

The guard nodded. He didn't say anything about Belle. Ben wondered if he was allowed to.

They finally crossed Jafar's shop, which was set up in a covered courtyard so that you could peer in and see things. It was basically a giant warehouse. An Arabian boy was behind the desk and it was him who Ben asked for help. He said he couldn't leave the desk, but that Ben could look around the front of the store while he called for someone who could help.

Ben bent down and examined lines and lines of jewelry hanging from curved hooks. One was a purple gemstone hanging from a long cord. It might have looked nice on Mal, but Mal didn't like much jewelry. He also found a gold ring with a beast on it that fit perfectly onto his right ring finger.

The guard cleared his throat. "Listen, kid," he began in a low, uncomfortable whisper. "I'm technically not supposed to do this, but you see that shop over there?" He nodded across the street to an open café. "I like their coffee and the lady behind the counter is an old… friend of mine. If you don't say a word about me leaving you here, then I'll get that ring for you."

Ben looked down at the ring. "Can I even wear it? Someone might ask." He snorted and put it back. "You can go to visit your friend. I won't say a word. And it's not exactly like I can run off either. Do you want me to wait here for you, or come find you?"

"Wait here," the guard commanded. "I don't want people recognizing you from barter day." He slipped off and Ben looked back down at the ring on his finger. Then he took it off and replaced it.

"That's a relic from the old times," a familiar voice said from behind him. "It was one of the small treasures of King Adam before the heroes were banished."

Ben turned around and stared. The person stared right back. "Audrey?" He asked.

He barely recognized her. She was a wisp of herself. Thin, with scraggly hair. Her eyes were sunken. Her cheeks were shallow. She had a cut on the side of her face.

"Ben," Audrey whispered, and her eyes raked over him. Her expression twisted. "Are… what are you doing here?"

"I've been sent on an errand," Ben admitted. "From the palace."

Audrey took a sharp breath. "That's what the dragon meant," she realized.

"The dragon?" Ben asked, furrowing his brow.

Audrey reached up and brushed his cheek. "That boy," she whispered. "The one who painted on your face at the auction. She put a dragon on your face to keep people from taking you."

"Oh, Mal," Ben felt his face flush a little. "She's a girl. Her name is Mal. She's the daughter of Maleficent and she's in charge of me."

"Maleficent?" Audrey's voice quaked. The boy behind the desk turned and gave them both a pointed stare. "Sorry," she gasped. "Let's… head back and get what you needed."

"Oh, yeah," Ben nodded, pulling the paper with the drawing out of his pocket. "Here. Can you help me find it?"

Audrey nodded and then reached down to take his hand as they walked. They wandered through racks of clothes, old television sets, and panned preservatives. Ben couldn't see any system to the mayhem. He trusted Audrey though. She was an old friend, even if she looked a little different now.

"You look so thin," he whispered, squeezing her bony fingers. "I thought that Jafar would take care of you."

"He's not so bad," Audrey's voice cracked as she talked. "It's just that the work is hard and I… I'm having trouble adjusting." She brushed her matted hair back. "You don't look too bad though. Did Maleficent hurt your leg?"

"My back," Ben shook his head. "She whipped me. Set me on fire. Did a couple of other things too." He traced the outline of her ribs through her shirt. "You look better than Chad, at least. He's in the courts and it's just… brutal."

"I'm glad you've seen him," Audrey turned back to look at Ben. "And I'm glad to see you." She kept her gaze on Ben's for several long seconds and then led him into a section with thousands of different electrical components on the wall. She examined the paper again. "This is a really specific one," she mumbled.

"Can you find it?" Ben asked, shifting his weight a little. Audrey nodded and began searching shelves. Ben waited, awkwardly twisting his hands, while she worked.

"I'm sorry about your owner," Audrey said after a while. "I can't imagine being owned by that evil… tart."

"I'm not owned by Maleficent," Ben shook his head. "Mal is her daughter. She takes care of me."

Audrey looked over, confused. "Surely she's not that different from her mom?" She asked. "I mean… I haven't heard of her, but she was raised by Maleficent."

"No, she's not," Ben shook his head. "She pulled me out of the dungeons and put me in a room beside hers. You know, I asked her if she'd take you, but she was afraid Maleficent would kill you on sight. So she asked Jay – he's the son of Jafar – to take you and hide you."

"I know Jay," Audrey whispered, pausing in her work to stare at Ben. "You… told them to bring me here?"

"I said I didn't want you going to any of the creeps who were surrounding you," Ben clarified. "Mal said Jay would take care of you." Audrey stared at him. Deep, intense emotions flickered through her eyes. Ben suddenly realized something: here he was, wed-fed, a little injured but not in pain, and walking around without a guard. Meanwhile, Audrey had been trapped here on his unknowing command.

"What's Mal planning on doing with you?" Audrey asked finally.

Ben cleared his throat. "Well… right now I'm just… a pet? Sort of? I run errands and finish work for her and…" his throat constricted when he tried to lie to Audrey, so he broke off about the part where he and Mal were supposedly having an affair. Besides, no one was around. The lie doesn't need to be kept up.

"Does she work for her mom?" Audrey asked, struggling to return her attention to the task at hand.

"Well… sort of? She has to help out in the courts, but she's still a girl like us," Ben explained, wringing his hands and then glancing through the shelves for the cord they're looking for. He'd been standing still for too long. "She's a friend."

"A friend?" Audrey spat, ripping her hand clean off the shelves and glaring at him. "What, so you're one of them now? Have you forgotten who they are? What they do?"

"No!" Ben protested. "No, I haven't forgotten. But Mal… she's different. She's… soft."

"It's all a lie," Audrey hissed. "She's lying to you."

"She can't," Ben laughed. "She can't hide anything from me. I… know her face." Every line. Every wrinkle. Every soft spot and every muscle underneath her skin. He knew her face like he knew how to hold a pencil and step forward. Learning her was like learning to breathe.

"You love her," Audrey realized, and the words grounded Ben with a weight that slammed into the concrete from above and left him stumbling as he stared at her for clarification.

"What?" He gasped.

"You love her. You're doing that… thing you do. When you talk about colors or your mom or books." Audrey's eyes filled with tears. "I can't believe you! You meet someone new and you forget all about us! All about your family and friends… You don't even care about what's going on in the bubble! You could have stopped it and you haven't!"

"What's going on inside the bubble?" Ben demanded. "What's happened?" A cold, sinking dread fell into his stomach.

"Audrey!" Someone snapped from down the aisle and they both turned to see Jay stalking up the row to them. Audrey flinched back before Jay smacked her cheek and Ben shouted in protest. "You were supposed to be done with this ten minutes ago and you're chattering about the crown!" he snapped as he dug up on the shelf for the cord and pulled one down. A purple one with the same inscriptions and everything. It looked new, too.

Tears rolled down Audrey's cheeks as she held the side of her face. Jay pointed down the way he came. "Scram!" He shouted and Audrey hurried away without an issue. Then, Jay seized Ben by the back of his neck and marched him away. Ben struggled to walk as Jay began to whisper in his ear with some bits of spit hitting his lobe.

"This is for Carlos, isn't it?"

"Yes," Ben gasped, reaching to claw at Jay's hand. Jay squeezed harder.

"And no one besides Audrey knows you got it, right?"

"The boy at the front…" Ben choked weakly.

Jay released Ben's neck with a hiss. "Get out and don't come back!" He whispered. "And don't let anyone know you have that!"

He shoved Ben forward and then disappears. Ben stumbled forward until he found himself holding onto the registrar's desk in the front. Jay was gone. Audrey was gone. The Arabian boy was drumming his fingers behind the register as he watched Ben catch his breath and Ben's guard was returning from across the street. "Yeah, he tends to do that," The boy said.

"I'm back, kid," The guard announced when he got close enough. "Find everything?"

"Yeah," Ben agreed, palming the cord to the boy, who rung it up, wrapped it up, and handed it back to Ben. The guard munched on a doughnut and sipped a coffee as Ben passed bills over. He picked up the ring Ben was examining before and offered it to him.

"You sure you don't want this?"

Ben hesitated as he pocketed the wrapped cord and then glanced at the boy behind the register. "What is this ring?" he asked.

The boy shrugged. "Keepsake from the old times," he yawned. "Used to belong to King Beast. Most of the treasuries went to Jafar after the takeover. We've still got lots of items lying around. "

Ben hesitated and then looked over at his guard. "If you would be willing to purchase it, I'd be grateful for it," he said. Without hesitation, the guard slapped a stack of bills down.

It was the first time Ben did something he wasn't technically supposed to.


	32. Green Eyes, Star Eyes pt3

Someone slammed the door open to his bedroom and stood in a seething storm for several seconds before stepping inside and seizing the footboard of his bed. They slammed the door closed with their foot and then Ben slowly got to his feet. "You're angry," he observed. It was pretty obvious. "Did you meeting with your mom not go well?"

Mal slowly broke her hands off the footboard and crossed her arms. "You went to town?" She demanded. "Why?"

"Carlos asked me to," Ben shrugged. "I wasn't aware I wasn't allowed to leave."

"You aren't allowed to do anything without at least asking me!" Mal snapped, shoving a finger underneath his nose. "How dare you leave! And to Jafar's shop!"

"It was just a cord, Mal," Ben snapped and then caught her hand when she drew it back to hit him. "Why can't you just talk to me? Quit hitting me all the time and just tell me what's going on!"

"Talk to the prisoner!" Mal snapped. "No, don't touch me!" She shoved him back onto the bed. "Benjamin, how dare you! What were you doing there? Sightseeing? Jay already told me you were talking with your… your… your fling!"

"Is that what this is?" Ben demanded. He wrestled back to his feet. "You're mad I was talking to Audrey?"

"You don't get to talk to anyone who I deem unsafe!" Mal snapped. "It's for your safety, you idiot! What if someone had seen you and put two and two together? How can I keep you safe if you keep waltzing away?"

"You don't get to tell me what to do!"

"Yes, I do! I own you!"

"You can't own people! This is… twisted! You live in a barbaric society!"

"Like it or not, this is the way it is!"

"Oh my gosh! You're acting just like your mother!" He shoved her this time and she hit the wall and stopped herself from falling by grabbing the wall-mounted light. Immediately, guilt filled him. But he couldn't even reach to help her up before she'd collapsed onto the ground and hid her face from him. She pulled the collar of her jacket up over her hair, shaking, and clutched her head.

Ben bent down. "Mal?" he whispered and carefully set a hand on her knee. Mal twisted her body away from him. "Mal, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean… I mean…"

"I don't want you to talk to me," Mal cut him off. When she unveiled her face again, she was white, her eyes were unfocused, and she looked past him without any emotion in her expression.

Ben sat down beside her, leaning against the wall, and put his hand on the carpet between them as some sort of odd peace offering. She didn't even look his way. Her blank stare focused on the doorknob but somehow saw right through it as if nothing was capturing her vision.

Ben traced a pattern in the carpet. "When you want me to stay silent," he whispered, and Mal stirred. "But you start being violent. I can't find where you went in this mess. Stand still without movement; poised, dangerous, and poignant. And still, I remember you at your best."

Mal exhaled. "Did you write that one down?" she whispered.

"Not yet," Ben shook his head. "I kind of just spat it out."

Mal bit her lip. "Jay said he saw you talking to Audrey," she mumbled. "Why did you leave? I thought you'd be here."

Ben leaned back into the wall. "You told me to listen to them," he shrugged. "Carlos wanted me to get a cord. A purple one. He said he couldn't be seen-"

"Don't tell me the rest," Mal shook her head. She pressed her fingertips to her brow. "It's better I don't know. I'm obligated to turn him in. He's forbidden to get his hands on anything that charges too strong of a voltage."

"Oh," Ben exhaled. It seemed rather anticlimactic. "Well, Audrey was helping me. Except we started talking. And the Jay came and slapped her and threw me out."

Mal tugged her legs closer to her chest and examined the carpet on the ground. "He told me," she nodded and sighed. "I… got scared. When I came back and you weren't here… I thought one of the other villains might have taken you."

"Carlos said you wouldn't be back until late."

"I had to fetch something for my mom and you had my bag," Mal replied. She buried her face in her knees again. "Can you… let me know when you leave? Please? Or just leave a note if I'm with my mom?"

"It probably won't happen again," Ben sighed, closing his eyes. "Still, it was nice. I didn't know we were so close to the ocean. And the sky-" he spread his arms out as if he could still see the blue.

"You saw it?" Mal hummed, sitting up with the tiniest traces of a smile decorating her mouth.

"Yeah," Ben set his hands down again. Immediately, something small and warm covered the back of his hand and squeezed.

"I'm glad," Mal whispered, avoiding his gaze. "And… I'm sorry for panicking."

Ben tilted his head at her distant expression. His heart was thumping inside his ears as he turned his hand over and squeezed Mal's back. "You know," he began with a coy tone playing in his voice, "There are other ways to tell someone that you love them."

Immediately, Mal ripped her hand out of his. "What are you talking about?" She sputtered. "I-I don't care about you."

Ben hummed and said nothing else. Mal slowly got to her feet. Her face was even paler now. "Are you leaving?" he asked.

"Yes," she agreed.

Ben traced her body with his eyes. She was still shaking. She looked almost… weak. Not weak as in easily-defeatable, but weak as in she looked like she hadn't been eating in a while. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Mal choked, snatching around on the door for the handle.

"Mal?" Ben asked, getting to his feet, "Before you go, I need you to tell me something."

"Ben, I don't want to answer any questions about us or-"

"The Bubble," Ben cut her off. "What's happening in the bubble?"

Mal stared. It took her a long time to respond. Then she shook her head. "I don't want you to know," she responded. "Don't ask me."

She twisted the knob and left before he could scare her anymore.

* * *

He knocked on the door to Mal's bedroom and ignored the spray paint clouds as he wandered past Jay and Carlos's legs and around where Evie was sitting on the bed, working on something in a book. He set down food for them all and then grabbed Mal's arm as she was spraying something up above her headboard. She jumped when he touched her.

"Someone left these for you," he told her, sliding a stack of papers into her hands. Mal's gaze hovered on him and then she took them and began glancing through them.

"Did you read these?" She demanded after reaching the fourth envelope in the stack.

"I assume that's code for 'this is stuff about the Bubble that I don't want you knowing," Ben said, giving her a pointed look. "It's not nice to keep secrets, Mal."

Carlos looked up. "You haven't told him, Mal?"

"No," Mal snapped, glaring at her friend. "He doesn't need to know."

"My parents are still in there, Mal," Ben whispered. "What you do affects them."

"Doesn't matter," Mal snapped. She turned to cough over her shoulder. The windows were open, but paint fumes still filled the air. She took the file and tossed the rest onto her bed. "No one touch those," she demanded. "I need to go talk to my mother and then I'll be right back." She waved her hand to clear the air a little bit before heading to the hall with the file and snapping it closed.

Ben sat down with a huff. "She's been stuck with Maleficent a lot lately," he said aloud to no one in particular. "Are they doing something important?"

Evie, Jay, and Carlos all exchanged looks. Then Carlos pulled a phone out of his pocket and focused on it as he began to talk.

"I don't know why she's so secretive with you," he began. "She gets… weird sometimes. But… you should probably know that Maleficent has been… struggling with the bubble for a while. People are sympathetic. She doesn't like having it around."

"It's a threat," Jay supplied from the ground. "And now that no one wants to have children, she's kinda angry with it."

Ben drummed his fingers on his knees and waited for the blow.

"They'll be cutting rations that are sent to the bubble next week," Carlos admitted. "The Bubble will lose about thirty percent of its import."

"What?" Ben demanded, hair rising on end. "But… it's already thin! If they do that, people will begin to starve!"

Carlos nodded and said nothing. Ben balled his fists up as angry tears pricked his eyes. But that was before the second blow came.

"Maleficent's not in her right mind," Evie consoled him. "She's sick. Mal's hoping she'll come around soon." Something in her voice conveyed the real gravity of the situation. Whatever was happening to Maleficent, it wasn't normal.

* * *

"Do you still dream about me?" Mal asked while dropping her backpack, sensitive items removed, beside his doorframe. Ben grit his teeth.

"Well, you're not sleeping much right now, so no." He gave her a stern look. "Don't think I don't notice you choose to sleep when you know I can't and then stay up all night. Don't think I'm blind to how you're not taking care of yourself."

Mal looked surprised at his venomous attitude. "I wasn't trying to, like, ghost you or anything," she claimed, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "It's just been hectic. My mom has lots going on."

"Yes, considering she's planning on starving everyone inside the Bubble."

Mal's expression darkened. "They told you," she hissed. "Oh, the fools…"

"Why don't you go blow up at them like you do me? Prove you're even more like your mom than you claim to be."

Mal's eyes narrowed into slits, but she still calmed down. Slowly, she reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Ben jerked away. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm still working with her, but she's being… stubborn."

"I get it," Ben whispered. "Thank you for trying." He peered up at her through his bangs. "What's your place in the courts?" He asked. "You've never told me."

Mal swallowed. "I'm her daughter," she began, putting her hand on his shoulder and tracing his collarbone with her thumb. "I'm the successor. For one day."

Ben put his hand over her hand. "And when one day comes," he prodded, carefully watching for her reaction, "What will happen to the people in the bubble? What will happen to me?"

Mal didn't seem to have an answer as she pulled her hand back. "You seem to think I know everything," she whispered. "That I have all the answers. What if I'm just as lost and trapped as you are?"

"You'd be in charge. You told me yourself that you're more powerful than Maleficent. I believe you're more compassionate. Would you protect us?" He tried to throw all the earnestness he could conjure behind his gaze.

"Ben," Mal stopped him by taking her hand and pressing a finger to his lips. She wouldn't look at him, but her fingers knew where all the features on his face were. "Please don't ask me something that dangerous." She kept her fingertip against his lips and then shifted her hand to the side so she was suddenly cupping his cheek instead.

He stood up. She backed away. He leaned past her and shut the door and stared at her with fire in his eyes. "Mal," he murmured, and she shook. "Tell me now, please. Tell me the truth."

"The truth?" A question flicked through her eyes. Real and scary and something he didn't want to consider. "The truth of what?"

"You know me," he begged. "I know you know me. Please."

Then there was the realization. She backed away. "I'm sorry, Ben," she whispered. "But I don't know you the way you know me. And this is dangerous enough without me finding out."

She twisted the knob. The door opened. She left. He let her. And when he finally felt his heart break, it both hurt worse and less than he expected.

* * *

The castle shook with Maleficent's screams. Insane, maniacal, and close enough to make Ben's skin chill over. The door to his room burst open. It wasn't her, or anyone he recognized. A man seized him by the neck and hauled him to his feet, scattering papers everywhere. Ben's vision blurred, but he quickly cooperated.

Chains were shackled to his hands and then a group of three guards forced him to march down through the now-familiar corridors. They threw him into the courtroom without a backward glance and Ben shuffled forward into the center.

Maleficent was sat on her throne, apparently unable to stand. Her face was blue as she laughed, but she couldn't seem to stop to breathe. The chair beside her was empty.

Ben looked around the room. The first time he'd been in here, everyone had been laughing and jeering at him. There was none of that now. Everyone avoided his gaze and Ben even caught some putting hands to their ears to block out the maniacal laughter.

No one said anything.

Maleficent had noticed he was there but continued laughing as if she hadn't. Ben wanted to ask if Mal was around, but had enough sense to realize why that would be a horrible idea. This was not Mal, who was soft and gentle with him. This was her mother, and she did not care if he lived or died. Still, his only chance of survival was if Mal somehow appeared.

Part of him still wanted to believe that his soul was linked to Mal's and that she was still lying and that she knew perfectly well who he was. He wanted to believe that if he called for her enough in his thoughts, she'd appear. But it had been weeks of her insisting she didn't know him and her friends rolling their eyes when he brought it up. It was forcing the bitter question into his head: what if she didn't know him on the same level he knew her?

Maleficent's laughter ceased abruptly and she slumped over in her chair with glass eyes. Had she died? Right there? But no, she stirred and pointed to a position three feet to Ben's left side. "Release him!" She commanded in a voice that sounded like she'd been in the sun for years.

A familiar face stepped forward. Chad, still here. He looked so weak he could barely drag himself forward. If Ben had had the opportunity to, he probably could have wrapped a single hand around Chad's biceps. Skin that had once been supple and tanned now hung from his face. The muscles had wasted away.

The shackles clattered to the ground. Ben didn't dare move. He exhaled as Chad stepped away. Then, tongue wetting his lips briefly, he found the courage to speak up. "Your majesty," he called, giving her the same title he would have had if she didn't exist, "Might I enquire for the presence of your daughter?"

The crowd stirred. Ben wasn't sure if they were unused to prisoners speaking or if they were simply scornful of his audacity. Maleficent, too, licked her lips as she continued to stare to the far left of where Ben stood. Her gaze was crossed. "Who?" She asked, and then slumped dangerously to the right as if her vision had tilted. She was now looking at the immediate left of Ben's face.

"Mal," he stated. "Your daughter. I expected to be called by her, though I will, of course, render you the respect you deserve."

It took a long time for Maleficent to process that he'd spoken, what he'd said, and what she wanted to say in return. Then she let out a bark of a laugh. "She is mine!" she declared. "And you? You are mine as well."

She waved her hand and pain crashed down on his skin, so intense that his world whited out and he crashed to the ground with a guttural yell. His head slammed against the ground and suddenly, he couldn't get up. The far-right side of his vision was gone. The pain continued though, and so Ben continued writhing and yelling on the ground as Maleficent cackled. Her laughs were so quiet they could barely be heard over his screams.

He ate a mouthful of pebbles that probably had someone else's blood on them as his cheek was raked against the ground.

His fingernails were pried off his hands as he clawed them through the crack of the ground.

The door was flung open.

"Mom?" Mal demanded, stepping inside and then jumping back in horror when she discovered the scene in front of her. The pain ceased, though Ben twitched uncontrollably. No relief filled his senses as he watched Mal mask her shock. "What's he doing down here?" She demanded.

Maleficent began to laugh, curse, and choke all at the same time. She threw her hand out to the side. "Fools!" She screamed. "Ignorant, belligerent fools! The lots of them! The audacity!"

"Mom!" Mal yelled, crossing the room, walking around him, and then taking Maleficent's shoulders to help prop her up. "You can't be down here like this! You need to be resting!"

"They'll die!" Maleficent screamed, trying to point at him and pointing more at the people in the stands, who shrank back and began to shake in fear. "They'll all die! Every last one of them!"

"Mom, calm down," Mal commanded, and her mother took a steadying breath. "Why are you being like this? You're just going to over-exert yourself. Let's go back to your room and I'll take care of you. This prisoner still has to finish a few things I told him to do anyways."

"No," Maleficent's voice seemed strangely steady as she sat up straight. "No, no. He's been here long enough. It's time."

"Time?" Mal asked, but Ben's ears stopped working after that. It was as if a shell had been wrapped around his body, and now it was forcing him to move. He got to his feet, head swaying and every muscle trembling. And then his own fist crashed into the side of his head.

Maleficent was laughing. Mal was shouting.

He threw himself to the ground against his shoulder and felt it pop out of joint. The pain sent fireworks across his vision. He didn't have any nails left but he dragged his forearms against the rough earth to try and cut them open. His head arched back towards his legs as his entire body flailed out of his control.

When it ended, he was aware of Mal shaking her unresponsive mother with tears falling down her face. Maleficent was hyper-focused on him, laughing as he trembled from the aftershocks.

A knife was tossed onto the floor by Chad, who was also crying. Ben reached out to pick it up. His brain was screaming at his hand to obey him, but he could do nothing – not even scream – as he splayed his left hand out on the ground and used his right hand to cut off the first two centimeters of his middle finger.

People in the stands were turning away and looking green.

Another two centimeters. Ben was fading in and out of consciousness now. He raised the knife to do a third, and then a green barrier appeared in front of his hand, forbidding him. The hold on his body was relinquished, and Ben became aware of Maleficent and Mal screaming at each other.

"I will not allow the spawn of fools to grace my castle any longer!"

"He's mine, Mom! He's mine and you're ruining him!"

"You are mine! What he is is nothing!"

"He's something to me!"

"You are weak for having such a connection! How can you ever expect to be the queen I am if you protect servants?"

"Mom, I like him! I like having him! I don't want you to kill him because he's my favorite!"

"Then pick someone else!"

Ben pulled his hand to his chest. Blood dripped in a steady stream. Red. He knew red. Red was the color of the rocks at home. Red was roses that bloomed in the crevices. He looked over at Mal, fist balled and frame shaking, and Maleficent. What was going on?

Maleficent nodded to Ben. "Pick someone else," She commanded. "To take it for him. Go on."

Mal gave the room a cursory, pained glance. It was clear that she knew most of the people in the stands herself. She singled out someone over Ben's shoulder. "Him," she decided. There was a strangled gasp. Someone picked up Ben's bloodied knife. Ben turned to see who it was and watched Chad, with green light covering him, force the knife through his own chest.

"Chad!" Ben yelled. Maleficent released his friend and Chad hit his knees, clawing at his chest. Ben rolled as Chad collapsed into the rock. Tear scorched his eyes. He couldn't move his hands enough to even touch Chad as the two friends locked eyes and then Chad stilled and stopped breathing.

Death was such an odd thing. It did nothing and everything. Chad's body seemed, at the same time, everything Ben had ever seen before and yet so small he could barely look at him. He didn't move at all yet Ben couldn't stop re-seeing the motion of his breaths. His frame was here, lying against Ben's, but Chad was gone.

Someone took Ben's shoulders and rolled him over, away from the body. "Hand," Mal demanded, trying to pry his bleeding finger away from where he clutched it to his chest. "Now."

"Get off me!" Ben pushed her back with such force that she tripped over his chains and fell into the ground. "You've killed him! You killed him! You… you cruel and… you heartless… you monster!"

His voice cut off as Mal silenced him with a wave of her hand. She got back up, ignoring his struggling, and somehow managed to press her fingertips to his forehead. Ben felt his vision go black immediately, but the rage and heartbreak remained boiling in his stomach long after he went unconscious.

* * *

Jay sat beside him, reading through the poetry on the desk while Ben stared at the wall, shaking occasionally. Mal wouldn't allow him to be left alone for long, but he refused to look at her and his rejection was painful for her. So she sent others to do her bidding while he slowly recovered.

She'd healed most of him when he'd been asleep. He'd woken up blurry-eyed but recovered from the beating he'd given himself. Jay had whispered something about a concussion the first time he'd come around, but Ben didn't know the specifics. All he knew was that he was missing part of his finger, a friend, and a majority of his sanity.

Jay shuffled the pages around.

He didn't get much privacy when it came to Mal's friends. They rifled through his things and shared secrets amongst themselves. He wasn't sure how much talk got back to Mal herself.

Jay flipped a page over.

Maleficent had been silent ever since that day in the courtroom.

"You should write more of these."

Ben glanced at Jay. "Are those the ones about her?" he asked.

Jay shrugged one shoulder, which was answer enough. Ben turned back towards the wall. "Can't. Those feelings are all dead now."

"Well, that's fine. Romance is dead anyways." Ben felt the bed shift dramatically and then was forced to sit up as Jay hefted him up and propped him against the wall like a ragdoll. A pad of paper and a blue pen were worked into his grasp. Ben shook at the feel of the pad.

"Why do you care? They're words. They're nothing."

"Not to us."

"To who?"

Jay shook his head as he tucked the poems into his back pocket. "Just write, Ben. It'll make you feel better."

Ben drew a little swirl on the paper with a stubborn frown. "What are words that rhyme with traitor?" he asked sarcastically, and then wrote the word down. "Dictator, jailer…"

"Savior," Jay suggested. Ben hissed and an angry line went through the word. More boiling tears bubbled in his eyes. Jay said nothing.

Ben did write. He wasn't sure how he managed it, but he did. He wrote and clawed the pen through three pages at once and then tears blotted out the bad words and bad poems. The edges of the pages crinkled from the sweat in his hand until he flung the useless, expressionless papers at the bed and shook his head. "I can't," he declared. "The words won't work. She's… she's ruined them all!"

Jay didn't reach for the papers. Instead, he cleared his throat. "Chad got a bad job," he whispered. "Most people don't last there. They go insane. And he did. Mal picked him because she knew he wanted to go."

Ben exploded. He hurled the pen at Jay, then the sketchpad, then his pillow before he turned away and curled up to continue crying.

"Ben," the whisper came. "It would have been you."

"Then it's his blood on my hands!"

"No, it's Maleficent's."

Ben looked back up at him. "What would you know?" he croaked. "You live in the palace and your father is Jafar. Your parents aren't starving to death. You haven't been sold. Your friends aren't being killed off."

Jay swept all the crumpled pieces of paper onto the floor. "I know," he agreed.

Ben stared at him. "Aren't you going to argue with me?" he asked.

Jay shrugged. "Maleficent's been spiraling for a while. Mal thinks she's committed too much murder, and now she's being tormented by ghosts. She keeps lashing out. Mal's performed a few exorcisms, but it only helps for a little while."

"Don't say her name," Ben demanded, but Jay ignored him.

"The people of the courts and Maleficent have determined that Maleficent won't be able to rule much longer."

That made Ben stop. He uncurled his legs and stared at Jay. "What?" He asked.

Jay swallowed. "Maleficent has asked to be put down and for Mal to step up in her place," he explained. "She will rule for two more months and then one of two things will happen. Mal will cease protecting her mom from the spirits who are trying to attack her and she will be left alone until she starves or until the ghosts kill her, or Mal will be the one to put her mother out." He picked up the pen and twirled it in his fingers. "If Mal acts too far out of line, then she'll be removed from the line of succession and it'll go to the next in line. Whoever is closest to Maleficent and who had the most right to revenge. Right now, that's Gaston. After Gaston, Jafar."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ben asked. He'd managed to pull himself out of his rut long enough to consider what Jay was saying to him. He put his feet on the ground for what felt like the first time in ages and ignored his shorter finger as he set his hands on his knees.

"Because Mal almost cut herself out of succession last week," Jay admitted. "When she told Maleficent to let you live. I don't think you heard, but Maleficent basically said that if she didn't let her kill you, then she'd be disowned. Then you would have been handed over to Gaston, Mal would have had no political power, and she'd be hunted."

Jay pulled a ring off his finger. Ben realized with a start that it was the gold one from his dad's shop that the guard had bought him. "There are a few things you don't realize are at play. For example, I don't think you've realized what Maleficent is trying to do with the Bubble." He leveled his eyes at Ben and tossed the ring back to him. "You think your people are okay with sending their children away to die? Or being slowly starved and worked to death? The more details that get back, the fewer people want to cooperate. The more Maleficent is haunted by the people who've come from there, well, the less she wants to put up with resistance."

"Resistance?" Ben demanded, sitting up even straighter. "Are you saying that they're… rebelling?"

"Jafar is third in line," Jay whispered. "He wants to be second, but Gaston has a right of conquest. Through your dad. As long as your dad exists, Gaston has a right to rule over him. Because King Adam was going to be the high king and not Sultan Aladdin, Gaston is higher ranked than Jafar. Lady Tremaine is dead, so is Facilier. Jafar is third unless King Adam dies because then Gaston doesn't have that right to rule over him. And Jafar has always hated the people in the bubble while Gaston likes to play with them. If they were to suddenly go away…"

Ben's mouth dropped open. He suddenly realized what Jay was implying with Maleficent's plans for the bubble.

"Of course, none of that matters if Mal exists because she's more powerful than any of the other villains. Her mom is Maleficent and her dad is-" he paused, examining Ben. "Very powerful. They can't fight her on the throne now that she's finally sixteen. If she were younger, they'd just take over anyways. But now, she'll grow up and probably have a daughter of her own who'll take over. Which would be unfortunate for Jafar and Gaston and everyone else in line. But hey, if there's a boy who she risks her hide to protect and save from her mom in front of everyone else in the court, well…" Jay held his hands up in a sort of 'I give up' gesture before getting to his feet.

"Jafar and Gaston," Ben gasped. "Were they in the courtroom when Maleficent-"

"They're some of her most trusted advisors," Jay cut him off. "You think they were gone? No. They both watched Mal almost get cut out of her inheritance. And that's not even everything. You see, Jafar was pretty pissed to find out you existed. We didn't know Ol'King Adam had a son. We figured he'd be smart enough to not procreate after Maleficent's decree went through. Now there's an argument… even if your dad dies inside the barrier, you might be enough for Gaston to retain a right of conquest. Meaning my dad really, really doesn't like you at the moment."

"And if I die," Ben breathed, "Then Mal breaks down and loses everything. After that-"

"If you die, then Mal murders the person who did it. She made that pretty clear. This is why my dad hasn't ordered me to bring your head," Jay interrupted, kicking his feet up onto the bed. "But now you're open to assassins. You think we've been hanging around to make sure you're not alone after losing your friend? We're hanging around to make sure you don't die." Jay kicked the bed in annoyance. "You and your flowery poetry and your insistence that you know Mal have unintentionally made you a political bomb. And Maleficent hasn't even realized what's going on yet. Do you know what would happen if she heard, for example, that the servant-slave who's her daughter's favorite is claiming to have been dreaming about her since before he came to Auradon? That he thinks Mal knew him too, and that's why she singled him out in the marketplace?"

Ben's mouth was dry and his hands shook as he stared at Jay. Jay snorted. "Yeah. Exactly. But you keep being an idiot and walking around our shop without guards, shouting at her, looking straight at her with _that_ look while you're being tortured…" He scoffed and leaned back in his chair. A knock came at the door and Jay caught the handle with his foot. It opened and Carlos slipped in. He gave Jay and Ben a cursory glance as Jay stood up and offered his seat to Carlos.

Before he left, he pointed at Ben. "You keep your head down," he commanded, and with that last command, Ben was left to dwell on everything.

* * *

The courts were temporarily adjourned while Maleficent's health continued to fade. Jay, Carlos, and Evie kept Ben updated on the happenstances of the government. Claude Frollo and Hans were trying to get close to Maleficent. Harry Hook had cornered Mal and tried to enamor her, but she'd had none of it. Gaston had caught an assassin that everyone was assuming had been intended for Ben.

Ben wasn't sure when his life had become a spy novel.

Mal never came around and he wasn't allowed out much anymore. They were trying to keep Ben in a contained area and distance the connection between him and Mal. The longer they tried, the more Ben wanted to see the purplette. He didn't even see her in his dreams anymore.

Two weeks went by and news leaked to the outside that the daughter of Maleficent would be taking over. Apparently, Mal's existence was a best-kept secret. Many people knew the purple-haired girl but didn't know how closely connected she was with the courts. They didn't know who she was. Mal dropped school and quit bringing him things. She spent all her time with her mom. According to Evie, Maleficent was only coherent for a few hours at a time. Most of the day she spent tethered to her bed and frothing at the mouth. Mal sat by her side, anxiously awaiting the end.

There would be no public coronation or change of power. Mal would be taking over as soon as Maleficent was unwell enough.

Then, one night, when Ben fell asleep, she was there.

They were in a room he didn't recognize. It was dark but warm. She sat on a chair in a corner beside a large, blood-red bed. All around the walls were huge and heavy tapestries of battles, dragons, and the former heroes and villains. Statues and busts also were lined against the walls, some with feathered headdresses hanging from them or helmets that were meant to be worn by someone with horns.

"You're here," he called. Mal jumped. She hadn't heard him appear. She felt up and down her body and then a forced smile stretched across her mouth.

"Hello," she whispered, voice cracking as she stood up and walked toward him. "I haven't seen you in a while. You went away."

"I haven't seen you either," Ben whispered. He glanced over at the bed. Mal had walked away from it, trying to split his attention, but he realized now that a sickly woman with long, mauve hair was laid back on it. Her head was tilted slightly back as if she had been prepped for CPR but no one had begun the process. It was probably to help her breathe as she slept. "How is she?" he asked.

"Who?" Mal asked, blinking tiredly and then turning to examine the woman. "Oh. I didn't see her. I don't know. Don't we usually go to your place?"

Ben shrugged. Mal continued smiling, then turned over her shoulder and coughed. She sounded like she was hacking up a lung as she tried to catch her breath, then turned and forced the dim smile to return. "Sorry," she apologized.

"You don't have to apologize," Ben assured her, skimming over her paler-than-normal colors. "And Mal? You don't have to smile if you don't want to."

Mal's smile faded and she nodded with a sigh as she glanced back over at Maleficent. "I never can fool you, huh?" She said.

"Is she still alive?" Ben asked, referring to Maleficent.

"She's breathing," Mal nodded, gesturing to the body. "Do you know her?"

Ben stilled and then shook his head. "No," he whispered, finally letting the last bit of hope in his soul die. "I don't. But her daughter will take over soon."

"Ah. So she's powerful?" Dream Mal asked.

Ben nodded. "Very," he agreed.

"Is her daughter powerful?" Dream Mal asked. She wandered over to the bed and pulled the covers up more. Ben felt something like needles stinging his eyes.

"Yes," He agreed. "She's very kind and beautiful too."

"This woman isn't very beautiful," Dream Mal observed, peering down at Maleficent. Ben watched her hands shake and sat down in the chair she'd been sitting in. "She… she does look like she's gone. She's barely breathing."

Ben sniffed and Dream Mal looked up at him. "You're sad," she whispered. "What happened?" She returned to his side and laid a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, Ben took both of her hands and began pressing kisses onto her palms. Dream Mal looked very confused.

"I was so sure," he croaked. "So sure. But lately, we're just so far apart… I miss you. I want to go back." Tears were burning his eyes. His hands shook as they held onto hers.

"Hey, it's okay," Dream Mal told him and pulled her hands out of his. She bent down and hugged him. A real hug. One that he almost flinched out of. "I'm sure I'll be back more often. It's okay."

Ben shook his head and buried his face into her shoulder. "That's not what I meant," he hiccupped. "I-I thought you were real. That my best friend was real. I wanted you to be real and part of my world because you mean… everything to me. I never thought to tell you before because I thought you were only a dream, but I love you. You're… you're my person. The person who gets along with my person. Whatever your soul is made of, my soul loves it."

Dream Mal's hands stilled. "What?" She asked, sounding startled. "You… you love me? Why?"

"Because of everything," Ben sniffed. "Because you talk to me and you protect me and you made jokes with me. You like my poetry and you like me. Because I felt like… like we were both halves. And when we were together, my world was just better."

"But…" Dream Mal looked astounded. "Well… I'm real, aren't I? Just tell me that there."

Ben shook his head. "You're a great person in real life," he spat out bitterly, wiping away his tears with one hand before hiding his face away again. "But I fell for you here. I fell for the girl who was so insulted I kissed her cheek that she fell off my front porch. Who couldn't figure out how to pick a rose with thorns. I fell for you and everything we had. And I guess I could have the same thing with the other Mal, but I… I wanted you. I wanted the Mal I grew up with."

Dream Mal tangled her hands into his hair and then sat down on his legs. She rubbed little circles into his scalp while he cried into her shoulder.

"Maybe…" she hummed. "Maybe there's still something to be done."

But Ben didn't have enough hope for that anymore. He just stayed with his arms trapping her against his body until he woke back up with tears staining his pillow. Evie was above him, shaking him. "Ben?" She called, and he rolled over. Her face was white as she sat back down. "Are you awake?" She asked.

"I am now," Ben replied.

Evie swallowed and twiddled her thumbs together in her lap. "Listen, we just got some bad news from Mal. Maleficent is almost gone, but she has one more thing she wants to do before she dies."

"What?" Ben asked, swinging his legs off the bed and standing up.

Evie closed her eyes. "Maleficent has decided to destroy the bubble. They're assembling an army to do it. Mal will lead it to prove she's ready to take on the throne. Everyone inside will die."

Ben had seen blue before. He knew the color was the sky; the ocean.

It was the same color that clouded his vision when he realized what that meant for him.

* * *

Ben remembered getting sick. For as quickly as he had succumbed to his illness, Mal fell slowly. First, her cough, which he heard occasionally when she walked down the hall, grew thicker. Evie and Carlos started whispering about how her eyes glazed over and about how she was swaying as she sat in meetings. She stumbled in the hallways, almost passed out during dinner, and then vanished from the courts entirely.

Ben waited until Evie needed to use the restroom on her watch, scribbled a note detailing where he'd be and then snuck out, even though he was very aware that he needed to not die right not. The hall was empty as he snuck down and twisted the knob to Mal's room. He found it locked. That wasn't a problem. He bent down, examined the larger, older keyhole and then quickly broke his pen to fish out the ink capsule. Then, using the back of it, he began to pick the inside of the lock.

As a child, Ben had read a book in which the main character was able to pick a lock with a hairpin. He'd been so impressed by the concept that he'd dismantled several dozen locks to discover how one might be picked before practicing for hours. Had Mal known the dream him, she might have magically reinforced her locks. As it was, the lock clicked back and he was able to enter without a problem. He locked it behind him afterward.

Mal was sprawled out on top of the covers of her bed, fast asleep and shivering. Both shoes on, hair sticking to her sweaty forehead, and moaning softly in her sleep.

He pulled off her jacket and hung it in the accustomed spot by the door before tugging her shoes off, pulling off her gloves and bracelets, and then carefully pulled back the covers of her bed. He pushed all of her pillows aside, sat down, and then laid her out on her stomach with her head on his legs so he could run his fingertips through her hair.

And there he sat.

Evie came in with tight lips after she picked the lock herself and then decided to say nothing as she pulled out her sketchbook and started drawing. Ben fished on the side table for the bible that he'd left there before he'd left. "Can I have some paper?" He asked Evie.

She handed him a few sheets with pursed lips.

Mal woke up later. She looked very confused to find a set of legs underneath her. "Hello," Ben whispered. She almost jumped out of her skin as he leaned over for a flask of broth that had been set on the nightstand. "Thirsty?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" Mal moaned. She closed her eyes and covered them with her hands for good measure.

"I'm here to take care of you," Ben replied, knitting his hand into her hair. "I thought I should return the favor."

Mal squinted between her fingers at him and then curled up closer to his leg. "You should go," she mumbled. "I shouldn't be seen with you like this."

"Good thing no one's looking," Ben sighed. Mal didn't respond. She'd already gone back to sleep.

* * *

"Time has long since lectured; my contacts I should rend. But I'd be lost if I never learned; the gratification of a friend," Ben recited the moment he knew she was awake enough to hear him. She traced a fingertip up her leg and hummed. Ben let a corner of his mouth raise up. "I walked and found; a barrier in my road; so I turned and took a path; to a place I hadn't known. The way was bumpy and rough as I trod through grey; passing dust and bits of stuff as I trod on my way. I think you must have appeared - materializing before my face; Your presence I calmly considered when you took my side as your place."

"I like it," Mal managed to choke out before she dissolved into a coughing fit. Ben took the flask and handed it to her and she managed to take a long drink without any more coughs.

"You feeling better?" He whispered and Mal nodded a bit while continuing to snuggle into his side. "Good."

"Ben?" Mal whispered, balling his shirt up in her fists. "You know you don't have to stay here, right?"

"I know," Ben assured her.

"Then why do you?" She grumbled.

"Because," Ben pet her hair down. "I told you that there were better ways of telling people you loved them, and this is one of the best ways I know how."

He couldn't tell if the blush that followed his statement was fever-induced or not. She erupted into coughs and carefully struggled away from his side. "You-you're just teasing," she claimed when she began to regain herself. "Aren't you?"

Ben shook his head. Mal stared. "Well, you shouldn't love me," she told him. "I'm just like, well, her." She gestured to the floor.

Ben shook his head again. "You're going to do better than she did, aren't you?" He asked.

Mal's expression darkened with realization and hurt. "You heard," she whispered. "You heard and that's why you're here. You're hoping I'll turn against her."

Ben swallowed. He was on thin ice now. He could pretend not to know what she was talking about, or he could face it. "I'm here because you're special to me," he told her, and this was true. "And I'll be here to take care of you." He cupped her face in his hands. "And yes, you're breaking my heart. And I'm hoping you'll change your mind. But I'm here because you were the friend I needed growing up, and now I want to be the friend you need."

Mal squeezed his hands. "Ben," she whispered in the sick tone that people did when they were trying to think of important things and they didn't want to. "She's sick. She's dying. Do you expect me to turn against her? Now?"

Ben had to fight to keep tears from welling in his eyes. "Do you expect me to watch you murder my parents without a protest?"

Mal pushed him away. "I think you should leave," she hiccupped. "It's… it's not good for you to be here. We shouldn't be together – here."

"I think I should stay," Ben wiped his eyes. "Because if we're never able to look at each other in the eyes again then at least we'll have this."

He wasn't sure who started crying first. Him or Mal. She curled into his chest like a kitten and he snuggled with her under the covers with her fists balled into his blue shirt. Hiccupping apology after apology and trying not to let her nose run horribly. He held her to him like he'd wanted to for years and then together they sobbed with the lights on but buried so far underneath the sheets that it was as if the entire world had gone dark.

"I'm sorry," she hiccupped. "I'm sorry. Please, please don't ever forgive me."

Ben didn't even know how much pain a person had to be in to beg to not be forgiven.

"Mal," he croaked against her shoulder. Her hair was sticking to the tears on his face. "Please. Please don't let this all end like this." Though he knew there wasn't much even Mal could do. Until Maleficent died, she had to obey or risk Gaston obtaining Ben and the ensuing political chaos.

Her lips pressed against his cheek once, twice, and then hovered dangerously close to his mouth before moving away. He felt her pull his head down and press their foreheads together instead of kissing him, and that felt more fitting.

"Ben?" Mal asked through the still, heart-wrenching darkness.

"I'm here," Ben whispered back.

Mal pressed a finger to his lips, then her other hand traced the outline of his face. His brow line, his jaw, everything. It was dark, but she acted as if she had it memorized. "I've lied," she whispered.

"Lied?" Ben asked.

"I do know you."

The world was already dark and very heavy. But suddenly it was still as well. He reached for her cheeks. "You do?" he asked, feeling lighter as his doubts left him. "Really?"

"Benjamin Florian, yes," Mal hissed, sounding like she was either laughing or crying in the dark. "You… you sap! You weren't supposed to be real. Nothing like you is supposed to be real. How dare you exist!"

"You know my name…" Ben started crying again. "I knew… I knew it." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Why now?" He asked.

Mal's hand stilled. So did Ben's. Somehow, they found their way to each other and their fingers morphed into a mess of nails and knuckles. He didn't need her answer, but she gave it anyway. "Because this is it," she whispered.

* * *

The door to Mal's room closed. Ben looked up from his place on the bed. She stood in the doorway, in a black jumpsuit, with a crown of white atop her head. He stared. With her dark makeup, black outfit, and the crown covering up most of the purple, she barely looked like his Mal.

"So, it happened, then?" He asked.

She nodded.

"She's gone?" Ben asked.

Mal shook her head. "Almost," her voice cracked. "We all expect she'll be gone tomorrow."

She unzipped her jacket, revealing purple underneath, and then removed the crown from her head to set it down on the desk. Ben stared at it. It was white, gave off some sort of a glint, and gave off the very impression of evil. Mal scoffed without feeling at it. "It's made from bone," she told him, and he flinched back. "I think it was someone's skull. Somewhat fitting, don't you think?"

Ben looked away from it. Mal sat down on her bed adjacent to him and began prying off her shoes. Ben got up, circled around on unsteady feet, and took her heads. "I have a request," he whispered, getting to his knees.

Mal turned away. "I don't want to hear it," she told him. "I already told you that I can't go against my mother. Not now."

"Mal," Ben whispered, squeezing his fingers in a vice grip. "Please, don't hurt anyone in that bubble. Let them go. You're in charge now. What's the harm?"

Mal pulled her hands out of his and shoved him back. "Yes, and what of Gaston? And Jafar? They're on the front lines, ready to pull Aladdin and King Adam through the streets by their guts. Legions of soldiers are assembled and Maleficent will be watching the entire thing by my side. Jafar's assassins are already lining up for my head while everyone is looking sideways at you, knowing that you're… someone!" She threw her hands out. "I'm trying to protect you, Ben. What more can I do?"

Ben shook his head. "Mal, I can't watch them all die," he whispered. "Please, please, I beg of you. Stop this."

Mal turned away. "I think it's best if you leave now," she decided. "Go back to your room or go back to the cells. Either way."

"If you'll go through with it all then I beg you to kill me!" Ben snapped and Mal almost collapsed in shock. He reached for her hand, gave her face a quick caress, and held her gaze. "Don't put me through this. Don't make me listen for my mother and father screaming. Don't make me know my friends and their parents are dead. Don't turn the girl I love into a murderer while I'm still here to witness it all. Kill me."

Mal shoved him so he went sprawling across the floor, but then he kept skidding back as she used magic to force him out into the hall. "Out!" She shouted, and the door slammed.

Ben crouched down into the shadows. Did it matter if she was his Mal? If she'd grown up beside him and been his secret-keeper for years? No, apparently not. Not if she was exactly like the monster her mother was.

* * *

Daylight came and Jay and Carlos came to his door with shackles in hand. He wasn't sure what they were for since Maleficent had been dysfunctional for days, but he didn't complain when they snapped the cuffs onto his wrists and ankles and urged him forward.

Out in the courtyard, dozens were assembled. An army as wide as the eye could see, all moving out into the open. Jay and Carlos forced him into a car and then they drove ahead of the soldiers.

It had not been a long drive from the barrier and it was not a long march either. Ben could see people gathering inside, watching the amassing soldiers and crying out in fear and alarm as they came and surrounded them. Jay and Carlos pulled him past the front lines and towards a wooden platform where Mal, Maleficent, and a stone-faced Evie were. Maleficent was lying in a hospital bed, with white froth bubbling from her mouth as the occasional high-pitched laugh escaped her throat. As Ben walked, he saw a man in blood-red robes and another with bulging muscles appear. Jafar and Gaston.

Ben was taken up by the platform and made to stand beside Mal, who wouldn't look at him. His heart rent and burned within his chest as he looked at the people begging for mercy inside the barrier. Nothing to protect them. No warning given.

He'd always known Maleficent was a monster, but who knew her daughter would turn out to be just as ruthless?

"Is everything ready?" Mal asked Carlos. Carlos looked closely at Maleficent, then nodded.

"Wha?' Maleficent squawked, sounding a bit like a bird.

"Nothing, Mom," Mal assured her, stepping to her mom's side and stroking her matted hair. "Jay, where is everyone?"

Jay pointed to the back, behind the first wave of soldiers. Ben squinted and could make out a flamboyant red coat in the distance. Cruella De Evil. All of the villains had come out to cheer on the destruction of the heroes.

Ben collapsed to the ground, took the hem of Mal's jacket, and buried his face into her side. "Mal," he begged, in pain as if his body was being ripped and destroyed from the anguish. "Please, Mal!"

Jay and Carlos pulled him back. God, he was a mess.

"Is she gone?" Carlos asked, nodding to Maleficent.

Mal stroked the side of her mother's face, tracing down to her neck. Her fingers hovered there for several seconds, and then she shook her head. "No," she shook her head and then glanced at Jay. "Give it to me."

Jay reached into his sleeve and pulled out a knife. A knife he recognized. A knife that probably still had his blood on it.

Mal traced her fingertips across Maleficent's cheek. "You remember when I was young?" she asked in an angelic trill. "You used to tell me something important. Whenever I messed up. Do you remember?" She took the knife from Jay. Maleficent didn't respond, she was staring at the green barrier with thirst in her eyes. "You said the powerful get away with everything, while the weak perish," Mal hissed. "And I think it's high time we followed through with that."

Without a flinch, she dragged the knife across Maleficent's throat.

Carlos reached underneath the bed and withdrew a machine with a green lightbulb on top and many different wires looping around it. Ben recognized the purple cord – the one he'd brought him – attaching itself to the chair. "Long live evil," he announced to the group, flicking the switch on.

"We're rotten to the core," Mal hissed as some part of a mantra that Ben didn't understand. She put her finger over the lightbulb, and it was as if a supernova exploded. Once again, the sky was green. The air was green. And Mal was floating a few inches off the ground, eyes and skin and hair all vividly green as she seethed with uncontrollable power.

Carlos wasn't supposed to have things that used a lot of voltage.

Mal was more powerful than her mother, she'd said.

Carlos had _super-charged_ Mal.

The crowd of soldiers all looked up towards the platforms and Ben saw that their eyes were green. Green that matched Mal's. Because they were all under her control.

Evie forced Ben to the ground. "Stay down!" she commanded.

"Soldiers," Mal announced in a voice that echoed off every particle in the air. Jafar and Gaston looked up along with the rest of the villains who were waiting to lead the front lines. "We have a new enemy. Destroy all of the villains."

Ben heard a cry of outrage from Gaston before the soldiers all moved as one. Ben heard screams and cries from the back of the crowd as they wave split and began to assassinate the villains who'd gathered to witness the destruction of the heroes. Evie covered Ben's eyes as shrapnel flew around them.

_Mal had gathered all the villains together to get rid of them._

_Her mother had unwittingly allowed for her own destruction and for the demise of all her allies._

And Ben was safe.

It had all happened so quickly… how could it be? Mal had only been sixteen for a couple of months… she was barely able to take over her mother's throne. And Maleficent had gotten sick so quickly… she had succumbed only weeks after Ben arrived, almost as if he'd… triggered something.

It all suddenly made so much sense, he wanted to laugh.

Mal, the primary caregiver of Maleficent. Mal, the teenager who was just barely able to take over the throne. Mal, who had known him from the first day. She'd gotten her revenge, attained her power, and saved Ben.

The carnage was over in minutes. The people stood on the other side of the barrier, shocked. Mal stretched forth her hand, and just as if it was made out of soap, the bubble popped. Mal took her hand off the bulb and Carlos shut off the machine, glancing sheepishly at the other two. Mal stretched out her hand, shaking a little on her feet, and brought Ben to his feet. The two stood in silence for a long few seconds.

"Prince Benjamin?" Mal offered, tilting her head to the left.

Ben reached out and fixed Mal's crown to be at a jaunty angle on her head. "Queen Maleficent?" he responded, laughing. He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. Mal's face morphed into shock and outrage. She tripped backward, looking disgusted, and tumbled right off the platform and into a group of dazed soldiers. Ben, Evie, Jay, and Carlos all burst into laughter as she scowled and climbed off the soldiers.

"How dare you!" She snapped. "I will- I will!"

"Kill my goldfish?" Ben spiked an eyebrow.

Mal's expression softened. She sighed and crossed her arms as she looked up at him. "Benjamin Florian, what am I going to do with you?" she sighed. Then, she crooked her finger. "Come down."

Ben quickly crossed to the stairs and hobbled down. He was still bound in his chains. Mal took his arm. "Come on," she scoffed and began to lead him past the scorched earth where the bubble had boiled for all those long years. They walked into the street and the crowd parted easily. Ben saw Peter Pan, Wendy, Cinderella and Henry, Tiana, Naveen, and Rapunzel. They gawked at him as he crossed their paths.

"I always thought you were my conscious," Mal whispered when no one could hear. "I thought you were… the manifestation of my guilt. I didn't think anyone as perfect as you could exist."

She kept a hold on his chains as she continued leading him. Mal knew where to go. Of course, she did. She had practically grown up here with him. She knew him. He knew her.

His parents were waiting on the doorstep for him. In their hands were the bunched-up pages of poetry that the four had stolen from him and the one letter that Ben had written. When he saw them, tears of joy sprang to his eyes even though he'd already done far too much crying for one lifetime. They came rushing down the steps, shouting for joy, and picked him up as they held on for dear life. Ben hugged back as best he could. Nothing could top this glee inside of him.

The shackles loosened and fell to the ground. Ben watched Mal tuck the key into her pocket. Jay must have passed it over with the knife. He hadn't even noticed her remove the ones on his feet. He rubbed his sore wrists and then threw his arms around her, too. She looked just as uncomfortable as she had up on the platform.

"I think you've had enough," Mal said slowly as he withdrew from her. "And… it's been a lot. You should be home now. You should be home with your parents, so you can properly heal." And she nodded to his mother and father, acknowledging that she was releasing him to them.

"And you?" Ben asking, taking her hands. "You've been through lots, too. Stay with us for a while. Please. I want my parents to get used to the girl I want to make my wife one day."

Mal's face erupted into red, which she promptly hid from sight. Ben's parents, to their credit, took this news with stride and Belle set a hand on Mal's shoulder to further invite her. "No, no," she declined. "But thank you. Unfortunately…" She glanced back to the way the soldiers had come, in the direction of Villeneuve, just past the mountains. "There are people who still need me, Ben. And we were toxic, and you know it." She squeezed his hands tightly. "If you want to try again, one day, I'd be happy too. But by God's, Ben, you were my slave! I owned you! We had everyone thinking I was assaulting you! You've lost your finger and your toes and you'll never sit up right again!"

She released his hands then, brushed off his shoulders, and then cupped his face briefly. "I did a number on you. And you shouldn't start relationships on those messes. Love shouldn't be made with swords. I want you to stay here, with them. Let them take care of you. Be a teenager for a little longer. Audrey and everyone will be back soon. You need time to get over me and heal. I have to go and be the queen. But… one day… if you can find it in you…"

"I'll call you up," Ben cut her off, smiling assuredly.

"I don't want you to forgive me…"

"I already have." He took her face then and pressed their foreheads together. She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Mal, I should have known you'd pull through."

Mal smiled, despite everything that had happened. Then she pulled back and shook hands with Adam. She tried to shake Belle's hand, but Belle pulled her into a hug, dropping pages of poetry to the ground as she did. Mal looked extremely uncomfortable. Ben laughed and wasn't surprised to see the purple ink that had been scribbled on the edges of all his notes, dictating things like: "He's okay. He's walking again. Why is your son such a romantic sap?"

Mal finally managed to release herself from his mom's grasp(and Belle quickly replaced her body with his in a giant hug from behind) and Ben watched her stumble through the gravel as she began to walk away. "When will I see you again?" he called.

Mal blushed. That same bright red, rare blush that he was coming to associate with himself. "Probably tonight?" she shrugged. "After all, you're still the boy of my dreams."

And on that note, she left him safely with his parents.


	33. I Know You (pt1)

**This is a long story. If you would like to read it in a more broken-up format, you can find in on ArchiveofourOwn under the name 'I Know You From Once Upon a Dream' by WanderlustandFreedom.**

* * *

**The biggest problem in Audrey's perfect relationship with Ben is the sporadic dreams that plague her of Ben living happily... with someone who isn't her. She's not used to being jealous and she's never felt so... overlooked. Her only consolation is that when she wakes up, everything is over and nothing is real. Ben is with her, life is perfect, and this Mal person doesn't exist.**

* * *

I Know You(From Once Upon a Dream)

In her dreams was a large apartment. The sort of thing that existed for families inside of large castles, with all the necessities to function in one small area. It was cozy. There was a kitchenette attached to a living room. A wicker basket filled with nice blankets. Lots of paintings on the walls. An electric fireplace with beautiful tile surrounding it.

Audrey wandered through the halls, peering first into a home office that was so neat she didn't see how it could have ever been used before and then into a bathroom. Dozens of hair and bath products – mostly for men – were set in metal hangers on the wall. She kept going and peeked into a bedroom.

She glanced over the comfortable suite and, upon realizing two people were fast asleep in their bed together, quickly turned to leave. She couldn't. She had no control over what she was viewing. It was as if she were watching a screen she couldn't look away from. She watched one of them – a man, judging by his hand – run his fingertips over the covers.

Her vision panned up until she was looking down on her boyfriend, Ben, who was shifting a little as he opened his eyes. The girl beside him was not her.

How dare he? She stared, dumbfounded. Then, she realized she couldn't look away. She couldn't even close her eyes.

Ben blinked a few times and then peered at the slumbering girl next to him. Audrey wasn't sure what she expected. She realized that this was probably just a funky dream, she had imagined that Ben, being the man of her dreams, would remain faithful even in her dreams. No matter the reality of the realm. Maybe he would jump up and demand who the other person was? Maybe he would ask where Audrey was?

He didn't do either of those things. Instead, he leaned up and traced his fingertips down the other person's cheek before he leaned over and kissed it. She stirred. He continued peppering her face with kisses and gently caressing her jaw and face until a smile crossed the girl's mouth and she opened an eye to peek at him. "Who are you?" She teased. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ben chuckled. "Good morning," he whispered with his mouth close against her forehead as he began to comb his fingers through her hair. "It's time to get up."

"Up?" The other girl moaned, snuggling deeper into her pillow. "Why? You don't want to get up and neither do I. Let's just stay here."

Ben laughed and wrapped his arms around her before burying his nose into her shoulder. "Come on," he whispered. "We both have meetings."

"Says the man still trying to fall asleep on me." The girl released her pillow and rolled over to wrap her arms around his neck. Audrey felt like screaming, but she was disembodied and unable to do anything. As the girl wrapped her left arm around Audrey's boyfriend's neck and started running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, Audrey saw something sparkle and was momentarily blinded by the glint and an intense fit of rage.

This wasn't a dream – it was a nightmare.

"Hmm," Ben replied wordlessly. He kissed her jaw and then somehow managed to tangle his fingers in hers while her fingers were still messing up in his hair. Then, he raised their clasped hands together and turned their fingers around to watch the ring on her hand sparkle in the early morning light coming through the window. The girl laughed and let him play with her hand. Smiles were frozen on their faces.

The girl, Audrey decided to notice now, in favor of watching their infectious show, was an unreal mix of attributes Audrey didn't think could exist together on one person. She was much smaller and shorter than Audrey, with pale skin like she'd grown up in a cave. Vivid green eyes that caught the light in ways eyes were not supposed to and a thin mouth that was pink even without lipstick. And, most unbelievably, long purple hair that was spread out over the pillow behind her. The impossible standards did nothing to ease Audrey's jealousy. Why did her dreams have to conjure up someone so fake and yet flawless? Someone so unlike her?

Ben finally released the other girl's hand and climbed out of bed. "Come on," he called, heading into the attached bathroom.

The girl whined and buried her head underneath her pillow. "Goodnight!" She called.

"Mal!" Ben called, still in a teasing tone as he re-emerged from the bathroom, still in his pajamas. He pulled all the covers off her and then took hold of her foot and pulled her towards him. Mal yelped and tried to grab hold of the headboard before he could pull her away, but found herself being pulled off the bed nonetheless. Ben snatched her hand as soon as it was close enough and pulled her to a sitting position.

"Ben…" Mal began to whine, but he caught her jaw again and kissed her to cut her off.

'Wake up', Audrey told herself. 'Wake up right now.'

Mal sighed against Ben's mouth and then slowly got to her feet. "Okay," she sighed, putting her arms around his neck briefly. She leaned in to kiss him again but dodged his mouth so she could plant her lips on his neck. The filthy, slimy little wrench.

Audrey was too blinded by her rage to even notice as Ben and Mal disappeared into the bathroom together before re-emerging fully-dressed. Ben was still wearing button-downs and shined shoes, but Mal wore a t-shirt with rips around it. Audrey could see both skin and parts of a black undershirt that made her blood boil when she saw the way Ben's eyes clung to Mal's sides.

Ben put his watch on. It usually sat on the bedside table while he slept. Audrey knew that much from late-night and early-morning visits. He read the time quickly and then glanced over at Mal. "We have about an hour and a half," he told her.

"Why did you make us get up, then?" Mal demanded, picking a purple phone off the nightstand and putting it in her pocket. She then began tossing pillows from the bed onto the floor.

"Because I wanted to spend time with you at breakfast," Ben responded, picking up his phone and then starting some music before joining her in her endeavor to rid the mattress of all its accessories. Mal scoffed but didn't respond as they both yanked up the first sheet and then pulled it tight over the bed.

They were domestic. How cute.

Audrey wished she could throw up.

Mal procured a bottle of something brown from her nightstand and began to spray down the sheets. "I don't know why you like this stuff," she wrinkled her nose at the smell, which Audrey quickly realized was vanilla. "It all wears off after the first little bit."

"I like vanilla," Ben replied, reaching across the bed to take the bottle from her. "It smells nice."

Please let her wake up now. Please let her wake up now.

Mal snorted. "Whatever makes you happy, Ben."

"You," Ben replied without a moment of hesitation. Mal's face flushed. A pink color crept into her cheeks as she rolled her eyes and then helped Ben pull up the rest of the covers.

"You make me happy too," she promised as she began picking pillows up and replacing them in their proper positions. Ben gave her a goofy grin.

It was such a simple scene. Such a simple task. Something sweet and trivial and something she'd imagined herself doing with Ben oh-so-many times.

It made her blood boil to imagine this other… tart experiencing it with him.

* * *

Let me get this straight," Ben snorted, swinging their hands together as they walked down a road not too far from Auroria's castle. "You're angry at me for something that I did in a dream?"

Audrey pulled her hand back and crossed her arms as she looked away and sulked. Ben began to laugh. Earnest, loud, and clear. He paused on the side of the road and Audrey stomped her foot against the ground. "It's not funny!" She whined.

"You're being silly," Ben rolled his eyes. "You don't have to get jealous of someone who doesn't exist."

"I know…" Audrey whined. She didn't protest when Ben reached for her hand again and then they took a detour onto a trail together. It was something they often did – go hiking through the Auroria woods together. She was wearing grey shorts and a pink shirt while he wore blue jeans and a yellow shirt. Ben had never been a big fan of shorts. Waterbottles were tucked into their backpacks and snacks for later were stowed away. Audrey had her phone in her pocket and Ben had his in his backpack. She wanted to take photos. He wanted to pretend he was far enough away no one could contact him.

"So, you were wandering through a house," Ben began, and Audrey's mood immediately soured. "You walked into a bedroom and I was lying down with someone else and that's when you flipped out?"

"No, I couldn't do anything," Audrey huffed. "And then you both got up and you were talking and laughing and touching-" She shuddered. "Oh, it made me so mad!"

"You know it's not real, right?" Ben gave her an easy, soft smile that made her heart forget it was angry. "I'm here, not there. There's no one else right now. I'm _your_ boyfriend."

They heard the crashing of water up ahead and rounded a bend to reveal a little pond with several different tiny waterfalls rippling down a creek. Audrey hummed as she took a seat on a little wooden bench and then withdrew her water bottle from her backpack. "I know," she mumbled and took a long drink. "I just… feel a little insecure, is all."

"Insecure?" Ben burst into laughter again. "You? Audrey Rose? Insecure?"

Audrey grumbled and yanked back on her zipper as if to punish the poor article for her boyfriend's teasing. Ben dropped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. She leaned into his side a little and focused on the waterfall bubbling over the rocks in the creek.

"I know it's silly," she muttered in his ear. "I guess I just feel like… you could have anyone you wanted and just… anyone would be happy with you. You're just that person."

"Thank you," Ben laughed. "But that's not a reason to be insecure. I pick you, Audrey. It's you and I. Don't forget that."

* * *

Mal kicked her legs back and forth as she sat splayed across the couch in Belle's library with her knees over the armrest. She turned a page in the book she was reading – which was on artists – and Audrey fumed. Of course, the girl would like art. It was something she admired too. Her dreams had to give this girl similar attributes so that Audrey could continue feeling insignificant and overlooked and…

Ben appeared, dropping his suit coat on the back of an armchair, and then sitting down on the opposite side of the couch where Mal's feet were kicking back and forth lazily. Mal yelped as the cushions shifted towards him. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her forward until her head had dropped onto his lap and then pushed his fingertips through her purple hair.

"Hard meeting?" She asked as he leaned down to press their foreheads together. She carefully laid the book out on her lap so she could reach up and pet her hands through his hair.

"Not really," Ben hummed, taking a deep breath of her scent. "I'm just happy to see you."

"I see that," Mal chuckled, kissing his cheek before he leaned back up and grabbed her book. "What are you reading?" He asked.

"Mine!" Mal whined, taking it back and sitting up. She leaned past him to the table and snatched a smaller book with white lettering. "Here's yours," she grumbled, shoving it into his grasp. She laid back down on his lap as he laughed and thumbed to a page in the book. His hand found it's way back down to be tangled in her locks.

Audrey expected Mal to just go back to her reading, but the purple-haired princess shut her book and closed her eyes as Ben's fingertips massaged her scalp. And Ben started reading aloud, almost as if they had arranged for this. As if it had happened before.

"Set fire to all your maps," Ben murmured, combing her hair back over his legs as she kept quiet with her head falling in between his legs. "forget how it's always been. We're explorers of the heart, learning to dream again. The adventure of a lifetime, with Love alone as our guide. Exotic places beyond imagination – ones we've longed for deep inside."

"You always pick the romantic ones when you read," Mal told him, reaching up to run her fingers down his chin. "You don't have to filter things just because I'm here."

Ben just gave her a goofy grin and set the book down. He kept reciting, even though he wasn't looking at the pages anymore. "Eyes are the soul's windows, I know this to be true – for when I gaze into yours, it's such a beautiful view."

Mal laughed as he kissed her cheek, then her jaw, creeping down closer to her neck. His mouth hovered over the fluttering pulse in her neck. And she only laughed before Audrey felt her vision begin to dim.

She sprang up, breathing heavily, in her bed at home. Utterly filled with hate towards all books and every memory she had of Ben ever reading anything aloud ever.

* * *

"So, we're now avoiding the library," Ben snorted as a way to start a conversation. He finished plugging in the old television set and then began sorting through his phone to find pictures and videos to look through. Audrey huffed as she set down hot chocolate, popcorn, and a bunch of assorted fruit in bowls.

"Not really – well – I'm just frustrated right now, okay?" She sat down and pulled a blanket over her legs. "I'm sorry. I swear I'll get over it soon."

Ben rolled his eyes and sighed. He then sat back as his phone started a montage of memories. They were doing a home movie thing for a date night. Audrey would have preferred to go out somewhere and do something, but Ben was a huge fan of these 'at-home, low-key, personal' dates. Some of the ideas were cute, but others Audrey had a hard time trying to keep from spitting out the words 'tacky' and 'cheap' at.

There were just some things she had to sacrifice, she supposed, and her political pride during personal events was one of them.

Ben laid his chin on her shoulder and began to candidly explain things about the various old pictures. Many of these early ones were from his middle school years. She saw many of their old friends, such as Chad Charming or Herkie, hanging out in classrooms and at people's houses together. She wasn't in many of them as she and Ben had gone to different schools. His mother also made many appearances as photos of them at professional events making funny faces flashed across the screen.

"That photo was from some art gala," Ben mumbled as a photo of him, two feet shorter than his dad and in a white suit, appeared. "I was having an obsession with white everything. I even painted my nails white. See?"

"Who told you that was a good idea?" Audrey made a face. "You look blinding."

Ben laughed and nodded. "I liked the nail polish," he shrugged, holding up one hand as if he could still see it on him. "Maybe I'd look good with navy blue now."

"Please do us all a favor and don't try it," Audrey stuck out her tongue. "I'm sorry, Benny-boo, but nail polish just doesn't belong on guys." She traced her own long acrylic nails down his cheek and Ben snapped at them playfully.

"I don't think it matters," he said. "Just so long as I don't try and wear white again. Oh! I had a sky-blue suit too that my mother hated. Maybe we'll see it up here."

"Sky blue?" Audrey made a face as if she were barfing. "I'm glad to see your style has gotten better." Then, she paused. "Well, at least with your suits."

"Hey, my socks are amazing!" Ben snapped back playfully. Audrey began to laugh. He knew exactly what she'd been poking at. He kicked a foot up and out from under the blanket to show her his current adornments. They were toe socks whose fronts had been decorated to look like he was wearing a suit on his feet. Little buttons and a red tie and everything. Audrey groaned.

"Come on," he coaxed. "They're great. Admit it."

"You are such a dork," she snickered.

"A dork?" Ben faked outrage and poked her side. Audrey flinched and yelped and a wicked smile spread across Ben's face. "You take that back!" He demanded, digging his fingers even firmer into her sides. Audrey writhed and began to laugh.

"No!" She screeched, trying to arc away from him. Don't you dare – stop it!"

"Take it back!" Ben demanded, grabbing her arms and pinning her so he could dance his fingers up and down her sides. Audrey howled and squirmed.

"Oh," Ben paused when the screen changed and shook his head. "There's the suit. Talk about awful middle-school memories."

Audrey looked up and almost passed out when she saw Ben in a suit so vividly blue that she didn't even recognize him for a few seconds. "Oh god," she groaned. "I think I might throw up."

"Oh, come on, that was my favorite suit," Ben laughed even though it was clear he, too, regretted the look.

He helped her back up and they curled into each other again, watching as the screen began to display more recent things, with some of Audrey's fashion faux pas appearing before it was over. Audrey had to hold back groans every time she saw herself. Goodness, why had she ever thought that was a good idea?

"I like this," Ben whispered into her hair when he reached for her phone to switch out with his. "I like doing this."

Audrey shrugged. "I still could have gone for dinner someplace," she admitted. "But this is nice. It's good to remember I'm not the only one with awful pre-teen memories."

* * *

"Stand still."

Audrey almost screamed when she heard the familiar, smooth-as-silk voice. Ben, on the other hand, laughed as he tried to hold a pose beside an open window. Mal was standing in front of a very tall canvas, sketching a very quick outline of him while he gazed out over the palace grounds. She worked fast and her hands made quick work of his body before she sighed and nodded, and he stepped away to stand behind her and watch as she worked.

"Is my head really that large?" he asked as she penciled in the outline of the mirror and then took a palette which had hung on the wall. They were in an art room, with paint-splashed countertops and open drawers of art supplies as Mal stood in the center behind an easel.

"It only seems that way because there's no shading," she assured him, stepping away towards where Audrey could see various types of paint in a box. As she shuffled through, collecting browns and greys and blues, Ben stepped up and flicked his eyes from the window to the canvas.

"It looks good," he complimented her. "Why are you painting me again?"

"Because the national art foundation asked if I could donate and you're my favorite model," Mal teased, leaning towards him as she balanced her palette. Her wedding band sparkled on her hand. Audrey would have grit her teeth if she could.

"Is this oil or acrylic?" Ben asked as she opened a canister. Ben leaned forward to examine it and then leaped back with his eyes watering. "Oil," he coughed.

Mal nodded. "Yup," she affirmed, smiling at him as she took his place in front of the canvas. "You know, if I wanted, I could give you a funny hair color." She took a grey, added some brown in, and began to paint the walls in her picture with thoughtful, textured strokes.

"Make me purple," Ben nodded in agreement, taking a chair that had been set aside for him and sitting down with his legs splayed. "Everyone will start spreading rumors that you want to have a son and we can laugh while they all freak out."

"Or it could be an allegory for how I wish you were?" Mal suggested, mixing a lighter shade of the tan for the walls next to the window. Audrey was sure no one could paint so accurately on the first try in real life and was rather annoyed at her imagination for making her believe it could be so.

"But those rumors are going around constantly," Ben protested, though hints of annoyance had crept into his voice and were now betraying his real feelings. "Rumors that you're pregnant only start every-"

"Other hour."

"-six months or so." Ben raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Mal and leaned back with his back hitting the wall.

Mal hummed, drawing a dark streak for the shadows Ben had cast on the wall and then spared him a surreptitious glance as he fell silent, watching her work. "I'm… happy the way we are now," she told him.

Ben nodded. "Me too," he agreed. And that seemed to be the end of it. Mal was smiling as she turned back to work on her painting. She couldn't see it, but Ben was smiling and rolling his eyes too.

* * *

"Go slow."

"I'm going to fall and break my neck!"

"No, you won't. You just have to learn to glide, not walk."

Audrey watched, unimpressed, as Ben stepped out onto the ice and began to skate in a small circle to demonstrate to her what to do. Audrey pouted. Most kids in Auradon hung out with their parents in the great outdoors and therefore learned activities such as skiing, snowboarding, climbing, and skating. However, Audrey had been raised in sunnyside Auroria and hated getting cold. Therefore, while most of her friends could skate, she could not.

Nor did she want to.

She took a tentative step forward in her skate. "Just like walking in heels," she thought. "Just stay on your toes and-"

She took a step onto the ice and very nearly slid into the splits.

Splits. As in gymnastics. As in something she could do with ease. None of this foolish sliding around without warmth or friction.

If only spring could come instantaneously and melt this entire frigid landscape so she and Ben could go swimming instead. Audrey traced her boyfriend's frame as he skidded to a stop and looked at her expectantly, trying to imagine him shirtless even as he was waiting for her. Her cheeks grew red.

"Can you get out?" Ben asked.

"No," Audrey snapped, withdrawing a few steps. "Ugh. Why do you like this? It's so… cold!"

Ben sighed and rolled his eyes good-naturedly and then skated over to offer her his hands. "Just get on the ice," he directed, "don't lock up your knees and push off one of your feet at a time."

"But then they get too far apart!" Audrey whined.

"You don't keep pushing off. Just little pushes. You know what, come on, I'll hold onto you for the first little bit. Come on, Audrey." Ben opened and closed his hand to further urge her to take it.

Audrey finally clasped his fingers, growling a little at the scratch of gloves. She took a few steps forward and then Ben began skating backward. She balked at him. "How are you doing that?" she demanded.

Ben shrugged. "My dad did it once and then I had to learn so I could race him," he explained. "It's not that hard. Like riding a bike."

"I'd rather do that," Audrey grumbled. "Is there a bike I could ride on the ice? At least so I don't have to worry about falling?"

Ben shook his head. "No. I know some places have kid-helps you can use that you push, but you still have to use your legs."

"What if the blade went all the way around the wheel?" Audrey asked. "I feel like that would work. It's the same technology as the bike."

"Except for the propulsion," Ben shook his head. "Ice Skates glide. A bike like that would grind. Pedaling would be impossible without any friction for the wheels to catch onto."

Audrey sighed. "That's what I get for dating the son of Belle, I suppose," she grumbled. Ben laughed. He let go of her hands then and she waved them around frantically to get her balance. "Ben!" She squawked.

"Just glide," Ben nodded at her feet, then began pushing off of his own to increase the distance between them. "Come on! Try to keep up!"

"Oh no!" Audrey yelped, trying and failing to get to an upright position. "Don't leave! Prince Benjamin Flor-" she slipped and crashed face-first into the ice. She heard Ben rush over and grab her hands.

"Audrey?" he asked, trying to help her up. "Are you alright? Oh… dear." He stopped, staring at her, and sighed.

Audrey fumed. Blood was dripping down her nose and she was pretty sure she was going to have a shiner of an eye for a good little while. She shoved him back and began to crawl back towards the snowbanks. To her shame, Ben didn't even fall when she pushed him. He just started gliding backward.

"I'm done," Audrey decided, picking up a handful of snow to press to her nose. "I don't like cold. Take me home, please, Ben."

* * *

"Remind me again why we do this?" Mal asked, taking a seat in front of the mirror with a sigh. Ben rolled his eyes as he picked his brush up and began brushing her hair back from her face. He pulled open the second drawer for a claw clip to secure it back and then began pulling out tons and tons of different types of makeup.

"We could just not," Ben shrugged, glancing at her with a smirk. "I could let you do your makeup and you could just not care about the news sources afterward. I mean, it'd be just like when we first started dating, before you got sick of everyone saying things about how-"

"I got it," Mal cut him off, grumbling while he ducked his head to hide his smirk. She gazed at all the different products with a grumble and didn't comment much further than a groan when he handed her a rag and a face scrub and directed her to wash her face off.

Audrey had already known the other girl didn't wear much makeup. It hadn't occurred to her that it was because she didn't like it.

"What's that?" Mal snarled at a colorful bottle as Ben set it down. It looked like a kid's product and featured a dancing watermelon slice.

"Relax," Ben snorted the same way he did when Audrey did something he found amusing. "It's a detangler. So, I spray it in your hair-" he did, one long spritz down a lock that Mal flinched away from, "-and then I take the brush and – viola!" He held up a freshly-detangled lock of hair. Mal perked up.

"Wait, so it makes it so you don't have to take five years detangling my hair?" She asked, picking up the bottle and sneering at the watermelon.

"Exactly," Ben agreed.

"Why didn't you tell me about this back when we first got married?" Mal demanded. "Or better yet, when we first started dating?"

"Because Evie told me it existed last week and I had to go through my acceptance period to realize such a wonderful product existed," Ben explained, taking the bottle from her so he could spray down her hair. "Also because I had to have Chip run down to town for it."

Mal sighed in relief as Ben brushed through her hair without any trouble and finished scrubbing her face with the rag. Ben plugged in a set of hot rollers, which Mal also sneered at before he began picking his way through the makeup.

Audrey knew Ben liked makeup. She also knew he was good at it. But she never, in a million years, would have let Ben see her without makeup, much less help her do hers. This other girl shared none of the same qualms, and that only fueled Audrey's disdain for her. How dare she not share her reservations? How dare she be a better compliment for Ben than Audrey was?

Ben occasionally wore touch-up and contour makeup for events and he was sometimes invited to girls' sleepovers specifically so he could decorate them, but he was never really allowed to go crazy and do his own thing. It was always at someone else's command or, on him, had to be socially acceptable and fitting for the event. Audrey doubted Belle ever would have let her son try going out in public with lipstick and fake lashes. She'd never seen him like this – with his own personal non-protesting canvas who seemed content to let him put anything on her face so long as his hands lingered there.

Mal held still as Ben drew contour lines across her face, around her nose, and underneath her eyes. She grumbled and shifted as he twisted her hair up in the rollers. She flinched away briefly when he applied primer to her eyelids, but then melted into his palms when he cupped her cheek to blend a striking mix of black, green, and gold across her eyelids.

It was making her uncomfortable to watch.

"You don't need three different reds," Mal deadpanned when Ben withdrew blush brushes to drag across her cheekbones. "They all look the same once they're on anyway."

"I don't get to do this on me, so just hush," Ben implored. "And they don't look the same. This one has blue undertones and this one has yellow."

"Blue?" Mal repeated. "They're all reds!"

"You're an artist – shouldn't you know the difference in colors?"

"My knowledge only applies to noble forms of art."

Audrey watched, slightly impressed, as Ben flicked out the wings of Mal's eyeliner in a method that had taken her years to learn. When he was satisfied, he handed her a mascara tube and then turned to sort through lipsticks. Mal sighed and leaned closer to the mirror, pinching her lips into a frown as she unscrewed the tube.

"I hate this stuff," She snapped when she was done with the first eye.

"I know," Ben replied simply. "But hey, you'll be the talk of the tabloids and I get to play with makeup. Win-win."

Mal only grumbled and tossed the tube back into the mix. Ben snorted and turned around with a vivid pink in his hand. On the back of his arm, he'd tested a few different shades to find the one he was looking for. Mal snorted when she saw the streaks. Audrey couldn't blame her. He looked ridiculous, in her opinion, but content.

Ben took her face with a soft touch and drew her in closer, almost with gaze alone. Mal's eyes landed on his lips as he dragged his thumb over her bottom lip to part the two and uncapped the lipstick with his other thumb.

"Hold still," he whispered in a tone she hadn't heard before. Just because it was new didn't mean she couldn't immediately place it, though. It was desire. It was want. It was him pretending he wasn't captivated by her and that he was still in control despite the fact he'd probably melt if Mal decided to kiss him.

Mal blushed underneath her makeup. Ben dragged the tip of the stick around the perimeter of her mouth and then slowly filled it in, cradling her jaw all the while.

He kept hold of her face when finished until her cheeks flushed and she leaned forward into him. Then he withdrew with a laugh and started removing rollers from her hair.

When he finished, Audrey had to admit that she looked beautiful. Ben had clearly been working with her face shape and skin tones for a very, very long time. He knew what looked good on her.

Ben turned her back towards the mirror with a proud expression. "See?" He beamed. "You're going to blow everyone away tonight."

"All thanks to you," Mal hummed, closing her eyes and leaning back into him. Ben's smile only grew even brighter and more proud. "Ben, why don't you do this to yourself every once in a while? Let Auradon know that you like it and you think it's fun. It won't make you any less of a king to them."

Ben's smile faded and he shrugged. "I'm kinda content to just play with your appearance," he shrugged. "And all of this doesn't usually fit in well with suits."

"Wear a dress, then," Mal suggested, but at this, Ben's face twisted into one of clear disgust. He liked his suits, actually. "Or not. Well, you could always do a bit of blue eyeliner and get away with it. That's what Evie does when the kids get her too busy."

Ben shrugged. "Maybe," he agreed. "I remember I used to paint my nails as a pre-teen, but I stopped once I got to high school. Audrey once told me that she didn't think nail polish belonged on guys."

"Audrey is a traditional princess," Mal kissed his cheek, leaving a faint imprint that Ben immediately wiped away before catching her face to correct her lip coat with his nail. "You're not a traditional king. Everyone already knows that."

"That is true," Ben shrugged in acquiescence. "Maybe I'll try it sometime. We could do something to you too."

"I could get some horns?" Mal offered with a smirk that was just… evil spreading across her face.

Ben burst into laughter and then kissed the top of her curly hair. "God, you look beautiful," he whispered.

Mal turned and pressed her forehead against his shirt. "Only with you here," she replied.

* * *

Sometimes, dating Ben felt like dating a member of the citizenry. He didn't care to spend lots of money, preferred home dates, was very close to his parents and treated them as parents rather than overseers, and never mentioned his status or future to people when they went places. But other times(and these were the times Audrey loved)… this happened.

The doorbell rang. Audrey's father opened it with a smile. A white limo was in the drive with a golden crown ornament of the hood. Ben was standing on the doorstep, hair combed back and spicy cologne floating in the doorway, holding a dozen red roses in his arms. Audrey floated forward, pushing her bouncy ringlets behind her ear, and smiled her biggest, brightest smile.

"Happy Birthday!" Ben exclaimed from the doorstep. He presented the bouquet. "These are for you."

"Twelve?" Audrey asked, hands shaking as heat burned her cheeks. "You're being flirtatious,"

"Eleven plus one," Ben agreed with a smile, and Audrey's blush burned even deeper into her skin. He looked up at Audrey's father then as Audrey turned to where one of the servants had already procured a vase for her flowers. She pressed the thorn-less stems into the maid's hands and whispered a request to put them in the window of her room.

Ben and Audrey's father finished shaking hands, exchanging pleasantries, and affirming when he'd be required to drop her back off. Then he offered her his arm and she felt like she was floating as he guided her down her front steps to where he opened her door for her and a footman greeted her as 'Princess Audrey'.

"Where are we going?" Audrey asked, curling into his shoulder in the car.

"I booked your favorite place, down by Oceania," Ben replied, reaching for her hand and twisting their fingers together. Audrey's face felt like it would stretch too far and split.

He escorted her inside, dipping his head uncomfortably when servers bowed for them. They got a private room overlooking the ocean and with only one table in sight.

"Thank you for this," Audrey said after the first course. "You always know just what I like."

Ben just shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm glad you like it," he said and reached across the table for her hand. It wasn't easy – the table was a bit longer than his family table at home – but she met him halfway and tangled their fingers together. "I want you to be happy."

"You make me happy," Audrey told him.

Ben smiled a tight little smile. "I'm glad," he whispered.

She had to get a bunch of photos of them to post online about how amazing he was, of course. But she could tell when Ben's smile began to be a bit strained after the tenth set of photos and so she set her phone down to focus on him and try to give him the attention he deserved. He didn't like being photographed constantly. That was fine. She loved him anyway.

"It means a lot that you stopped and did this for me, Benny-bear," she hummed, taking a long sip from her fluted glass. "I know you prefer quiet stuff with not lots of things around, and I'm grateful that you're doing this for me even though I know you'd rather do something else."

The strain in Ben's smile vanished and he perked up a little. "Of course," he nodded, smiling at her as if she was the most priceless thing on the planet. "I'm glad it makes you happy."

Then, he cleared his throat and shrugged. "Besides, you have been going along with a lot of my stuff recently. This was kinda overdue."

It was, wasn't it?

They made it through dinner. The waiters and waitresses came over to serenade her with 'Happy Birthday'. Ben sang along and she didn't think it was possible to feel more special.

Then, walking out to the car, Ben glanced at the ocean and asked if she wanted to take a walk on the beach with him.

What? No.

With seaweed on the beach and then tiny sand particles that dried up your skin and clogged your pores and itched between her toes? Audrey would have to shower when she got home. And after she'd spent four hours on her curls!

"Um, I'd rather not," she winced and bit her lip when Ben's expression solemnized.

"That's okay," he agreed. "It's getting closer to your curfew anyways."

But Audrey saw him glance back towards the waves breaking onto the beach and sighed. She leaned down and yanked off her $450 Tamara Mellon glass shoes before tucking them into her purse and taking Ben's hand. "Come on," she decided. "Just a quick walk."

They walked hand-in-hand down towards the waves. Ben ended up holding his dress shoes and rolling his slacks up like they were blue jeans or something before he stepped into the surf and kicked the water back out to the ocean with a laugh. Audrey made a face as he bent down and picked up a red shell that had been peeping up through the sand.

"It's shaped like a heart!" He announced with glee. "Do you want it?"

Audrey blushed and was suddenly a little more glad that they had come down. She took the shell, rinsed it as best she could in the surf, and then stowed it away in her purse. "Thanks," she giggled.

Then, as they continued their walk down the surf, Audrey felt a sharp stab in her foot. "Ouch!" she yelped and grabbed her foot. Ben snatched her arm, narrowly helping her avoid falling into the surf.

"Woah!" He exclaimed. "Did you step on a shell?"

"Blasted, sneaky little things," Audrey frowned. Her foot was bleeding.

"Oh well," Ben laughed. Audrey's frown grew deeper. Why was he laughing? She had gotten hurt and this had been his idea.

Ben swept her off her feet and into his arms. "Look," he said, securing his arms around her legs, "It's okay. No harm is done. I'll just carry you back to the car."

This, Audrey decided, was the type of romance she'd been born for. Just her handsome Prince Charming and her.


	34. I walked with you Once Upon a Dream (pt2

"Water polo!" Someone in her dream announced before the dream had even begun. Audrey made to clap her hands over her ears before the scene materialized and she almost groaned when she was able to make out Chad and Herkie pumping their fists while they dashed towards the pool in Chad's home, shirtless. There was some sort of loud house party going on. Dozens of boys and girls in swimsuits and loungewear were milling about as a bunch of grown men whooped and joined Chad in rushing for the pool. Audrey looked around for Ben, spotted him, and then walked over to ask if he was going to play before she spotted the head of vibrant hair beside him and hissed. Verbally. She blinked in surprise as people around her raised their eyebrows and looked at her.

Holy crap, she could move.

She could beat that little purple-haired predator into a pastel pulp.

As if her dreams were now anticipating her and wanted to keep her in check, Audrey now discovered that she couldn't move freely. Someone else was controlling her body.

And she'd been about ready to rip off her shoe and beat the witch with it.

She wandered over, still, in a group of other women as Ben made to leave with the other boys with a smile, paused, and then turned back to Mal. "Hey," she heard him whisper, "are you alright?"

Mal nodded, though she leaned forward and balled a fist up in his shirt like she was desperate for something steady to hold onto. "I'm fine," she assured him. Her voice was soft and terse.

"You're ready to go," Ben read her face and then cupped her cheek in his hands. "That's okay! We can go home now if you want."

Mal frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "But… Ben, they're playing polo. You love polo. You used to play it all the time in high school."

He did love polo. Audrey sniffed. He liked swimming as a whole and it was clear he'd been doing it too, judging from his wet hair swimsuit. He was wearing a swim shirt, which was unfortunate, but still looked delightsome.

Ben shook his head, though Audrey could see a bit of a wish behind his eyes. "I'll play another time," he whispered. "I want you to be happy, Mal. I know these things aren't your scene. And to be honest, I'd rather be with you. If you want, we can go home now and spend the rest of the evening locked up with a movie or in your studio…"

But Mal's face hardened and she brought on this smile and excitement that was so fake it was also cheap and plastic. "Actually, I'm going to go down to the bar and see if they can put some rum in a strawberry smoothie for me," she laughed. "And I still need to talk to Lonnie and ask how Jay is. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No, I'm not thirsty," Ben laughed, eyes trailing over her. "But… are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Mal bit out some broken laughter. "Go on! Go have fun!" She brushed off his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "You never get to hang out with your friends, Ben. The last time you hung out with anyone outside of a palace function or our family was months ago."

"I don't want to leave you alone," Ben frowned.

"I won't be alone," Mal shook her head. "I'm going to go find Lonnie. Okay?"

"Ben!" Chad shouted from the pool, raising an arm to signal him over. "You coming?"

"See?" Mal gave him a little shove. "They're waiting for you. I'll be back in a minute to cheer you on."

Ben exhaled and brushed his hair back. He raised a hand to Chad. "Yeah!" he called. "I'm coming!" Then, before Mal could walk away, he captured her hip and kissed her cheek. "Come get me if you want to go," he mumbled. Then, he pulled himself away from her side and went over to jump into the pool. Mal gave a little laugh and shielded herself from the water flying everywhere before she turned and wandered away.

She started to head to the bar. Audrey wanted to corner her, push her up against a wall and chew her out for having anything to do with Ben. She resisted, though, as someone else called for Mal. From a tiny cushioned area underneath a gazebo, Ally of Wonderland had a hand outstretched. Audrey watched Mal sigh before she begrudgingly changed paths. What a brat. She didn't even want to talk to anyone.

"There she is!" Jordan laughed as she leaned back into the cushions of an orange lounge chair. "So, her majesty finally steps down from the clouds to dwell with us common folk."

"Come! Sit!" Ruby exclaimed, gesturing to the middle seat in between Anxelin and Tiger Peony. "We were just talking about Chad and Gil. Who do you think looks better? Because I definitely think Chad's hair is much nicer than Gil's, but Gil's muscles are just-" She made a sigh and fell back into the cushions like she was melting.

Mal grimaced but then forced a smile like she was only minorly annoyed. "I think they're both airheads," she joked. "What are my other options?"

"Well, it's easy to have such high standards when you're with Ben," Audrey found herself saying with a bit of a teasing tone in her voice that made her head pound. Goodness, was her mind turning against her? She wanted to claw her hair out and gouge out her own eyes!

Mal chuckled weakly as all the girls exploded into moans and deep sighs. It was, Audrey thought, quite clear she wasn't wanting to share secrets of her husband with anyone there.

Ruby gestured again to the seat, but Mal made a gesture towards the inside to indicate she was going to move on. "I was, uh, actually going to go get a drink from the bar," she coughed.

Audrey wrinkled her nose. "But you're a lady," she reprimanded. "You shouldn't be drinking. Especially not at something like this. Who's going to get Ben home if he decides to drink with the boys afterward?"

"Ben doesn't usually-"

"Maybe he doesn't usually because you do usually."

Mal shut her mouth, frowning and looking like she wanted to argue but also didn't want to fight at the moment. "Here," Jordan snorted. "I can conjure some tamar hindi? It's super good. My dad and I drink it all the time." She snapped her fingers and some sort of red punch with some sort of nut garnish floating at the top of the drink appeared. Everyone leaned forward in excitement, even Audrey, and Ruby passed a mournful Mal a glass.

Good. The brat deserved to be disappointed.

"Okay, Mal," Ruby began, flipping through her phone notes. "Before you came over, we were talking about annoying habits our boyfriends all have. What are Ben's?"

"Ben's not my boyfriend," Mal began and Audrey felt fire explode inside her nostrils. "We've been married for seven years."

"Seven years already?" Ally exclaimed. "My, it only feels like one or two! I remember being shocked when he even got around to proposing."

Audrey would have smirked if her body would have allowed it. As it was, she only found herself nodding along as she took a drink of Jordan's conjured treat. Leave it to Ally to say something honest, whimsical, and insensitive.

Mal nodded along, looking like she was wanting to shoot herself in the foot.

"So," Ruby returned the conversation to where it had been previously heading. "Annoying habits?"

Mal shrugged. The ghost of a smile flit past her lips. "He gets all huffy if I wear my socks in our bed," she finally admitted. "Because he hates the feel of socks on sheets and therefore finds it despicable if I keep them on."

"Well, we were talking about things like leaving the toilet seat up or leaving his coat on the furniture when he comes home from work or not hanging the towels up to dry properly," Jordan interrupted. "Does he do any of those? I feel like he'd do the coat thing. That sounds like a Ben thing."

"I do that," Mal deadpanned. "I leave my jackets and shirts everywhere and he kinda just rolls his eyes and picks up after me."

"Your shirts?" Audrey repeated, sounding as scandalized as she felt.

"I think you're implying a bit much, Mal," Anxelin giggled.

"You shouldn't be talking about things like that," Audrey reprimanded, enjoying the way Mal's shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

"I wasn't trying to imply…" Mal sighed and curled her lips. "I usually take off my outer shirt when I'm painting or when I get out of meetings. I'm not, like, naked. I can still answer the door."

"Why don't you just stay presentable?" Audrey wrinkled her nose.

"Ben doesn't care – I don't see why you all think you can reprimand me," Mal snapped finally, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Jeesh, we're just asking," Jordan snorted.

"Yes, it's not exactly how we imagined the Queen of Auradon would behave," Ally chirped. "Back when Ben was dating Audrey, their biggest problem was deciding whether or not to be spotted publicly or not."

"Can we change the subject?" Mal sighed, pinching herself even harder.

"We were talking about being surprised when Ben proposed," Ally exclaimed. "I couldn't believe he would pick someone so… far out of his circles."

"You're a good match, though," Ruby hummed, turning off her phone. "The press loves to comment on how well you balance each other out."

At this statement, Mal's face relaxed a little bit while Audrey had to refrain from hissing at Ruby. "Yes," she agreed. "He's my other half."

"Are you two planning on starting a family soon?" Ruby asked. "Everyone's been asking for the last few years."

Audrey choked on her drink, but no one else noticed. Mal's face had twisted into the most "I-am-so-done-and-over-this" expression she'd ever seen. "No," she replied flatly. "We're not."

"I can't believe it hasn't already happened," Ally said, holding her glass up to the light to examine it. "I mean, Ben being who he is, I thought he would have convinced you by now."

"Convinced me?" Mal repeated.

Now, the subject wasn't exactly something that made Audrey's heart sing. She didn't want to picture Ben with anyone else, much less married for seven years and considering a family path. But it didn't make it any less glorious to watch Mal's face turn green and puce and the awful color of old porridge all at the same time.

"Well, it's rather selfish of you, isn't it?" Ally asked, setting her drink in between her legs as she began to babble. "Everyone's always known that Ben loves small children in the courts. We all figured it would be natural for you to have a small bunch for him, and it's already been several years."

"Ben and I think we're still a bit young," Mal declared flatly. But this statement didn't faze Ally at all.

"Yes, that sounds like something he'd say," she agreed with a nod. "He's very good at making compromises. Still, you're the Queen and if you weren't as young as you both are and with all the history between you two and the kingdom, you'd probably be considered a failure for not giving him a child of his own as of yet."

Audrey's face was neutral and impassive as she exchanged looks with the other girls. Ally had never had any social tact, and as her vocabulary expanded she'd only become more brutal. Inwardly, though, she was cackling to watch Mal shove her hands into her pockets, bite her cheek, and fix her gaze on the ground. Oh, it felt so good to watch her be in pain, even if she couldn't force her mouth to back up anything Ally was saying.

And the girl kept going! Audrey laughed inwardly as new words sprang forth in the absence of conversation: "I'm just saying that you really should reconsider things with Ben before he gets all heartbroken with waiting and-"

"What on earth are you saying to her?" Someone interrupted behind them.

And just like that, Audrey's inward excitement died. The group all turned as one to see Ben standing behind them, a half-wet towel slung across his shoulders as water dripped from his forehead and he examined them all with an unreadable expression.

"Hello Ben," Ally greeted, utterly unaware of the chaos she'd caused and the anger brewing in Ben's expression. "We were talking about how Mal hasn't had any children yet."

"We," Ben corrected firmly. "This isn't the stone ages, Ally. Children aren't just a woman's responsibility."

"Yes, but in any other kingdom or with any other heroes, people would be getting a bit worried," Ally looked up, laughing a little as if she were trying to explain a simple concept to someone who wasn't understanding it. "It's understandable if you're still waiting for her to come to terms with things, but-"

"Please stop talking," Ben cut her off. Ally blinked, glanced around at everyone's faces, and then became very silently confused. Ben reached over Audrey, dripping water down her back, across Tiger Peony, who hadn't spoken at all, and grabbed Mal's hand. "Get up," he commanded, pulling her to her feet. "We're leaving. I shouldn't have believed you."

Mal's shoulders slumped in relief as she practically tumbled into his protective grasp. A beast curled in Audrey's belly. She knew exactly what it was like to be there. "Are you sure?" Mal mumbled. "Is the game over? You can-"

"We're leaving," Ben cut her off too. "None of this would have happened if we'd just left in the first place."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and she did the same, completely ignoring how wet he was. Audrey would have at least made sure he was covered with his towel. Boys from the pool called for Ben, but he waved them off as he escorted Mal away as quickly as possible.

* * *

"Just your usual?" Ben asked as he pulled out a chair for her in the parlor of the on-campus café.

"That'd be nice," Audrey forced a smile. Her eyes were burning from the intense heat. She'd woken up from her nightmares at three in the morning, called Ben to rant a little to him, and when he'd gone back to sleep she'd stayed up until the sunrise.

Ben disappeared into the line while Audrey glanced at her phone. A message appeared from Chad – did she have the time to help him with his math homework? She clenched her teeth – It was so frustrating to have to talk to him normally when he had thrown that party in her dream and then pulled Ben away from Mal.

Overall though, it had been a better dream. She'd watched Ally utterly demolish Mal. And it was true, most of what she'd said. A queen on the high throne of Auradon for seven years without a child? Insane. Maybe Mal was broken. Maybe she was unstable. Either way, she was a freak.

Ben set down a glass bowl of ice cream in front of her while he set down his sundae. He glanced over to where the condiments were on the wall. "Syrup?" he asked. "I know you like the-"

"I don't think I can stand any strawberries right now," Audrey hissed.

Ben stared at her. He was exhausted because she'd woken him up when she'd called and lately had been listening to her nightmares with less and less focus. There were only so many times he could repeat "They're not real" before he became a broken record.

Slowly, he sat down and picked up his spoon while Audrey glared at her phone, trying to script out a message to Chad. "So, how has your day been?" Ben asked, setting his phone out of the way.

"Long," Audrey groaned. "I couldn't fall back asleep so I stayed awake until my alarm went off. I almost fell asleep in history."

"You almost always fall asleep in history."

"I do not! Ugh." Audrey pressed her fingertips to her forehead and took a large bite of ice cream, even though she knew it'd give her a headache. "I just wish this would all just… stop."

"You know, you don't have to let it bother you so much," Ben sighed, shrugging as he speared a slice of banana. "It's not like I loathe all cheerleaders when I hear boys in the locker rooms talking about you guys after tourney practice."

"What are you saying?" Audrey demanded, squinting at him.

"I'm saying that this… avoiding everyone and everything on certain days is… taxing. And childish." Ben frowned as he looked up to meet her eyes. "I mean you haven't touched purple in three weeks. Three weeks. You haven't even set your elbow on that square on the table because it's purple and for some reason you now hate purple."

Audrey looked down at the table and glared at the tacky, colorful square. "I know," she grumbled, setting her napkin over it. "I just… I get so insecure and jealous-"

"That was a cute excuse before, but don't you think you should have a little more trust in me now?" Ben demanded. "It's not like this is our second month, Audrey. We've been dating for seven months. And five of those months you've been pissed off by some dream girl who doesn't even exist." He put his fork down. "When is this going to end?"

"I don't know why she keeps appearing in my dreams, Ben. Believe me, I-"

"That's irrelevant," Ben cut her off. "When are you going to stop freaking out about it like… like… a middle schooler? Goodness, Audrey, you don't have to be so dramatic."

"Dramatic?" Audrey repeated, voice rising to a deadly tone. People glanced over and Ben's frown grew deeper.

"Hush," he commanded. "Yes. Dramatic. Need I remind you that you're ignoring fourteen percent of the color wheel? The problem isn't the dreams. It's the fact you go off into the deep end every time you have them. I just… need you to have a little more self-control."

"Self-control?" Audrey repeated. "I'm not the one going off in the deep end for some short, stubborn-"

"She doesn't exist," Ben interrupted. "Can you get that through your head? You invented a girl to be mad at, and now you're getting mad at me for dating her." He shook his head and then gathered up his bowl and silverware. "Listen, I need a break. From this. From the-" he shook his hand around his head. "I'll text you later. Have a nice rest of your classes."

And he left. Without a backward look or a sign of regret or anything.

And somehow that made everything all the worse.

* * *

"The speed limit is forty-five," Mal murmured as she watched the scenery pass outside. Audrey was looking between them from the backseat, though she no longer had a body and was instead fuming with her eyes burning as she watched Ben nod, ease on the brakes, and then reach over to take Mal's hand around the clutch of the car. They were coming up on a small town. The radio was off, the blowers were heating their feet, and the windows were down to let in the smell of the night and the sounds of the tires on the pavement while crickets protested their arrival.

"Is it left or right?" Ben mumbled as the speed limit dipped again and he had to release Mal's hand to go around a bend.

"It's straight ahead, but it'll be on your right," Mal told him. "You'll see it soon."

The road straightened out again and Audrey realized almost immediately what they were searching for. A drive-through fast-food chain restaurant was up ahead, with the parking lot half full of trailers, mobile homes, and one very long bus. Inside, children scrambled through the plastic tubes of the playground, laughing and screeching though the noise couldn't be heard through the glass.

Audrey hated fast food. The closest she'd do was the cafeteria food at school, but even then there were limits. Pizza was a disgrace. So were most chicken items. Don't even get her started on the hot dogs.

Ben pulled into the drive-through and watched a large family lead their seven-or-so children out of the restaurant. The youngest were carried in their arms or led by the hand while the oldest rushed ahead to the car, fighting over handles and who got there first while the white cords of earbuds dangled over their shirts. Mal opened her phone while the intercom buzzed and Ben placed an order for two small coffees, a lemonade, and a strawberry smoothie. Then, he turned back to Mal. "That right?" he asked.

Mal smiled. "Yes, thank you," she replied.

They pulled forward. It irked Audrey to no end how Ben knew all of Mal's orders here the same way he knew her orders in real life. Couldn't her dreams spare her perfectly-stable relationship?

"Listen to this," Mal chuckled. "Chaos in the Royal Palace as King Ben's Affair comes to light."

"Oh, who am I sleeping with now?" Ben rolled his eyes. "Evie?"

"No, just one of the maids," Mal replied, rolling her eyes as she flicked past the article. "It's because you're jealous of my affair with Harry and Jay. The problem is that she's underage, so now you're being investigated."

"That's a pretty deep claim," Ben snorted. "I wonder if our publicist will have anything to say about it."

"Does our publicist do anything besides tell me not to swear on live television?" Mal snorted. Audrey stared in horror. A lady swearing?

"You would be surprised," Ben rolled his eyes and then their conversation paused as he exchanged his card with the half-asleep lady at the window before passing the lemonade and smoothie to Mal and placing the coffees into the cupholders. She leaned back. On the floor in front of where Audrey's feet would have been, there was a cupholder that she used to stow away the second drinks.

Ben took her hand again as they drove away. "I'm glad we can make jokes about stupid articles," he said. "Thanks for not getting all… hissy or anything."

"There's not much point." Mal squeezed his hand tighter. "I know you."

Ben smiled. His eyes flicked off the road to climb up her body like he was trying to leave handprints with his eyes.

"The speed limit is forty-five," Mal reminded him.

* * *

_Dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl._

Ben sighed into her neck, keeping his eyes closed as Audrey pet his hair lightly. She was still wearing his away game jersey. He was dressed in a t-shirt that was soft against her skin as he laid beside her and with a heat pad on his neck. He'd landed on his back today during the tourney match and now his neck was sore.

_Dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl._

"Audrey?" Ben mumbled.

"Hmm?" She asked, still her hand in his hair.

"Thanks for supporting me. It means a lot."

"Of course, Ben. You know I'll always support you."

There was a long silence then. Ben shifted his weight to sink further into the couch. Audrey was about to go back to repeating her mantra when he broke the silence again. "Audrey?" He asked.

"Hmm?" She asked.

"You realize I'll be sixteen in two months?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "Exciting."

There was another brief pause before Ben opened his eyes. "They're going to have me coronated almost two months after. I'll technically still be able to make my first proclamations, but the coronation is just for the crown."

She knew all this. He knew she knew all this. He was nervous about something – that's why he was telling her.

"What's up?" She asked.

Ben sat up on his elbows and avoided her gaze. "Just…" he trailed off, opened his mouth to try again, and then closed it. "I just really like having your support on things," he said finally. "And I'd like it if you could… keep it up. Y'know?"

Audrey took his hands. "I'll be at the coronation," she smiled softly. "I'll be right there when that crown goes down, Benny-Boo. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

She missed the look that passed Ben's face as he laid back down but caught the "Thank you," that he whispered in her ear. They continued lying there, quiet and steady.

Dontthinkaboutthegirl, don'tthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl.

* * *

Mal was hiding on the edges of a party. Audrey sneered at her as hate boiled in her gut. Mal stepped back as a girl with two men on either arm crossed her path, giggling with both. God, where had public decency even gone?

Audrey spotted Ben, separate from Mal for once, nodding along to two other men who were discussing sewage systems in Dun Broch. One put a hand on his shoulder to ask him a question and Ben took a deep breath. Frustrated. He was frustrated with the conversation. She should go to rescue him.

But her feet wouldn't move.

"You see, your majesty," One man said to Ben as they began to meander towards the refreshment table, "We would need an additional grant of about forty-hundred Auradonian Dollars to make the changes."

"I'm sure we can reach some sort of agreement," Ben assured him, sounding like he'd repeated the phrase at least a half-dozen times. "Unfortunately, I'm not in office now and cannot help you-"

"Well, we could head up now if that's the issue!" The second man, who was quite a bit shorter but with a much deeper voice than Ben, exclaimed. "We wouldn't want this to get swept under the rug."

Ben spotted Mal, who was gazing across the room to where a blue-haired woman who was probably the most beautiful person Audrey had ever seen was dancing with a sandy-haired man. He paused, taking her in, and ignoring as the first man continued to speak beside him. "Absolutely!" He agreed. "We should head up right now. Your Majesty, do you have the keys to your-"

"Mal!" Ben interrupted the two, stepping away from in between them and towards her. He took her arm and pulled her closer to him before stepping around him as if he expected her to protect him from the men still badgering for his attention. "You like this song, don't you?" He asked. "Would you care to dance?"

Mal opened her mouth to respond, but the first man immediately began to talk. "Your Majesty, we were wondering if-"

"Gentlemen, I apologize, but I'm not in office right now. If you want to come by Monday morning, we can discuss everything. Now, if you'll excuse us, this is one of my favorite songs…" He pushed Mal around them, onto the floor where they took up a dancing position.

Mal smirked at him as he let out a deep breath. "Someone's tense," she teased.

"Sorry," Ben grumbled. "They just… wouldn't stop talking about sewage and…" he shook his head. "I know you like to do your hiding thing but I just couldn't take it anymore."

"That's okay," Mal assured him. "I like the dancing-with-you thing too."

"Ah," Ben snorted. "You mean you like the part where I waltz you out into the gardens and we sneak back to our room together."

"The door is there," Mal nodded behind his shoulder. Her hand tightened on his arm. "Unless you want to stay and dance? I'm okay to stay."

Ben hummed and rolled his eyes. "Just this song," he whispered in her ear. "It really is one of my favorites."

* * *

"Let's talk for a moment," Ben hummed into her ear as they laid back on a hammock in her family's garden together. Audrey hummed and watched birds flit back and forth in the trees up above.

"Yeah?" She murmured and relished in the feeling of his hand sliding through her hair. She hadn't curled it today, so it was one of the few days he was allowed to touch it.

"Prom is in a few weeks, and I know we're going," Ben began. "Let's say you had a say in a prom gift for yourself. What would you want?"

Audrey smiled and reached up to run her fingertips down his cheek. It was an action she'd seem him react fondly enough to in her dreams, but he wrinkled his nose here. "Hmm," she hummed. "Would it be… too much to ask for a ring?"

Ben withdrew from her, looked shocked. "An engagement ring?" He asked. "Yes, too much. We're coming up on eight months of dating and I still have a few weeks till I'm sixteen."

"No, not an engagement ring," Audrey blushed, shaking her head. "But… maybe a promise ring? Is that better?"

Ben still frowned. "I don't think so, Audrey," he shook his head. "I don't want to make promises while we're both so young. We don't know what will happen."

Audrey's heart sank. "You don't think we'll work?" she despaired. Her thoughts immediately turned to the purple princess. "Is it because you met someone else?"

"Gods, Audrey!" Ben snapped, letting her go and swinging his legs off the hammock. "I'm not cheating on you! And for Christ's sake, you think you're being subtle about hating everything around you and you're not!"

"Well, you just said-" Audrey sputtered.

"I said I didn't want to make promises when I have no way of knowing what'll happen!" Ben cut her off. "I like you, Audrey. I do! But we're sixteen! I'm not on the throne yet – I have no idea what'll it'll be like to balance this relationship and work. What if you meet someone else? What if we fall out of love? We're teenagers – first loves almost never work out perfectly."

Audrey pinched her lips together and nodded with a sigh. She patted the spot beside her and Ben sat back down. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Ben shrugged. "I'll look into something I think you'll like," he whispered. "And Audrey?"

"Hmm?"

"I meant what I said. You think you're being subtle but every single time you have one of those dreams, it's pretty painfully obvious."

She doesn't say anything. Not a single word.

Three weeks later, Ben turned sixteen and prom happened that following weekend. He became the official, yet un-coronated King of Auradon. She was escorted to prom by the King of Auradon. People took photos. Press tried to tag along. Audrey was in heaven.

Ben became very annoyed. "I wish they'd leave us alone," He mumbled as a bright flash appears through the crowd of students. Audrey turned so that they could better photograph her in her dress if they wanted.

They snuck out the back when it became too much for him, but Audrey kept on trying to convince him to go back. She liked the party – like the photographers who kept asking what it was like to be the King's girlfriend.

"You'll get used to it," she tried to console him. "It'll get easier."

Ben hummed quietly and scuffed his shoes against the ground. Audrey wrinkled her nose. "They just want to know what my first proclamation will be," he mumbled. "Everyone thinks I'm too soft to do anything good."

"That's not true," Audrey shook her head. That seemed to encourage him. "You're going to do lots of important things. I know it. You're going to help a lot of people."

Ben hummed and put an arm around her shoulder. "Listen, Audrey," he sighed and then pressed his fingertips to his brow. "I've come up with a proclamation. It's all written out and dictated and everything. I just haven't shown my parents yet."

"Nervous?" Audrey teased. Ben nodded. "You know they'll support you no matter what, right? So will I."

"I want to make changes to the Isle of the Lost," Ben admitted. Audrey stumbled in her path and stared at him. The Isle of the Lost was where all the villains were. She didn't think about the place too often, to be honest.

"Oh, okay," She laughed a little. "You're not planning on letting all the villains out, right?"

Ben laughed. "No, no," he agreed. "But, uh, I was going to let their children come over."

"What?" Audrey demanded, staring at him. "Why?"

"Because…" Ben clapped his hands together and took a deep breath. "Because they deserve a shot at a normal life. And they haven't done anything wrong."

Audrey's hands shook with rage. She had to take several deep breaths to calm herself down. "I don't think that's a good idea, Ben. They're going to be just like their parents."

"I believe in them, Audrey," Ben said simply. "I need you to believe too." He curled his hands a little. "I've been having… dreams about the Isle of the Lost. I think this needs to happen. Can you support me in this?"

What? No. Of course not. But Audrey forced a plastic, brittle smile and curled her hands around his elbow again. "I trust you," she mumbled. "I know you'll keep Auradon safe."

* * *

The last dream was probably the most surreal out of all of them. Audrey was walking down a long dirt road, surrounded by fog, stumbling over occasional bumps with the purple-haired Mal at her side. Mal seemed to step over the divots in the road easily while Audrey's heeled shoes seemed to catch every rock and trip her into every shallow ditch. She wanted to spit or lash out at Mal, but the other girl seemed to not even know she was there.

They came upon a fork in the road with two wooden pointers informing them of what lay down each path. The path to the right read "Good". The path to the left read "Evil".

Both girls examined the pointers. Audrey couldn't stop herself from continuing to glance over at Mal. What would she choose? Where would she go?

Mal examined the left path very intensely. She hummed and stroked her chin as she thought, then glanced to the right and perked up. Audrey looked over and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just dust-brown fog. But Mal saw something there.

"I'm going to go this way," she announced, pointing down the path of good. She took a few steps to further accentuate her direction.

Audrey fumed. "Well, that's all fine and good," she declared, glancing down the path of evil. The fog seemed thicker as she stared into it. "Well, I'm sick of walking with you. I'm going to go this way."

"I wouldn't," Mal cautioned. "It's not safe."

"I don't care," Audrey snapped. "You stay on that path. I'm sick of putting up with you."

And she turned and walked away.

* * *

Audrey kept her arm looped through Ben's as they stood, waiting for the villain kids. Her hands were shaking. She'd almost died when Ben had told her who'd be coming and felt a bit like expiring now as she stood in the warm sunlight with cold sweat dripping down her neck. She felt so sticky and gross and… ugh.

"Here they come," Ben mumbled beside her as the band burst into a clatter behind him. Audrey painted her best smile on while she tried to keep from wincing.

A black limo pulled up. The windows were tinted, so Audrey couldn't see inside.

What were the chances the driver would open the door and say they hadn't been interested, even after they had sent back confirmations?

What were the chances they'd murdered the man and were now going to attack them?

But the driver exited the vehicle, as planned, and walked around to open the door. Two boys fell out, yelling and fighting over what looked like a napkin or towel. Audrey wanted to close her eyes as Fairy Godmother stepped forward.

But there were supposed to be four. That was only two.

A set of blue legs appeared and a beautiful girl stepped out, looking around in amazement. Then paint-splattered black leggings appeared and Audrey felt a lump appear in her throat.

"Guys," Mal hissed at the two boys, brushing off her dark purple jacket and stepping forward to see who would address them. "We have an audience."

Audrey tightened her grip on Ben. He gave her a weird look.

This couldn't be real. It had to be a freaky nightmare, right?

Fairy Godmother explained things. Audrey resisted the urge to scream and demand Mal be taken back. Ben shook their hands. His hand remained in Mal's grasp for an eternity too long.

Not a nightmare. Not a nightmare.

Only living purgatory.


	35. Don't You Leave Me

**It's during the birth of their second son that Mal flatlines and passes on. But Ben's just not ready to let her go...**

* * *

Don't You Leave

It was awful. Horrible. Excruciating. Hands-down the worst experience of his life, and he still couldn't bring himself to say it was a mistake.

Her screams were echoing in his ears and overlapping with the echoes of the last screams that still hadn't faded and Ben felt like screaming himself because everything about this situation was wrong.

She hadn't cried with Zach. Grit her teeth, yeah. Gasped in pain a couple of times, of course. She had definitely snapped at him about how 'We are never doing this again' and 'this is all your fault', but her voice had been level and she had been in control and there had been no screaming. Now, she couldn't stop.

And there was so much blood.

"Something is ruptured," The doctor shook his head. "This isn't normal. She needs an emergency interveinal." And Ben could agree because, yeah, this wasn't anything like his first son. Mal had never needed a doctor with their first son. He'd begged her to let him call one but she'd rolled her eyes and said she'd rather not and so he'd kept the number to the hospital open on his phone so he could call them with a single tap and then just held her hand while they waited. Now, for the first time in her life, Mal had requested a doctor. Because something was wrong. This wasn't normal.

He wiped her forehead with a cool cloth as he listened to the doctors and nurses debate back and forth, wondering if she could hear them over her own screams. Every scream was like a nail being shoved into his skin. And then removed slowly, millimeter by millimeter. She'd never screamed before. Not once. And now her voice was going hoarse with every breath and every pain wave.

"I can't even tell how close she is! There's too much blood!" A nurse declared, and Ben squeezed his eyes shut and leaned down to kiss Mal's forehead, squeeze her hand a little tighter than she was squeezing his.

"We'll get through this," He whispered. "You're going to be alright."

It was the first time he'd ever had to assure her of that.

* * *

The first time it came up, it wasn't their anniversary party – it was Jay and Lonnie's. Their first one. An important one. The party was loud. People were celebrating. People who knew Lonnie from swords and shields and Jay from tourney. Jay was challenging Lonnie and the two were playing darts with Lonnie swaying from the two drinks she'd had while Jay smirked as he raised a sixth to his mouth.

Evie was outside, trying to quell her crying two-year-old when Mal stomped back over and dropped into Ben's side, shifting the entire couch in her direction before she let out a dramatic sigh.

Jane, Doug, and Ben all laughed. "What Auradon thing are you cursing now?" Jane asked, reaching over and pulling on the edge of Mal's sleeve, which was decorated with lots of long, black fringe.

"Children!" Mal snapped. "Ugh! They're revolting!"

The three laughed again because they all knew Mal secretly loved Evie's little boy. Maybe not as much as she loved his mother's face when she'd drop him off covered in mud, but he was still okay in her book because he was Evie's and Evie loved him. So Mal loved him through extension of Evie and also through the extension of Ben and Carlos, who adored their nephew equally. However, their laughter quickly fizzled out as Mal continued her rant.

"They're so small you trip over them and they smell like public restrooms and when they want your attention they yank on your clothes and – ugh!" Mal pressed the base of her palms into her eyes in frustration. "Who even thought of children? Who even wants children? Sticky hands and then they get hyper and they scream and cry and you have to teach them how to reuse the bathroom every other minute…"

Doug closed his mouth and turned his head to the side, examining her. Jane's smile dropped and she turned her head to see how Doug and Ben were reacting to this. Ben put an elbow up on the back of the couch and covered his mouth with his hand as he watched Mal – who he'd been married to for almost four years – complain.

"And then you have to argue with them to get them to eat and buckle up and go where you need them to go… they're just so frustrating! I don't understand why anyone would want children!" Mal finally finished her spiel and dropped her hands onto her legs in frustration, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her.

"Hmm," Ben acknowledged her points wordlessly. The half of his face that was uncovered barely showed any emotion, but something about his tone made Mal turn. She took in his face, the slouch of his spine, his elbow up over the back of the couch, and the way he was examining her, and her shoulders dropped.

"No," She told him.

"No?" Doug asked.

"No," Mal shook his head. "No, Ben, don't tell me…"

Ben dropped his hand and removed his arm, straightening out his button-down shirt as he looked away with the tiniest hint of amusement over to where Carlos was dangling a dog toy over Dude's head while Jay's friends laughed. "Actually, I want children," He told her, only half facing her before he crossed his arms and tilted his head to watch her expression out of the corner of his eye.

"No!" Mal moaned, shoulders slumped as she looked at him. Her expression was reminiscent of someone who had just watched a kitten die. She was acting as if he had decided to reenact the Isle of the Lost so he could send her back. "Why? They're not fun!"

"Ah-huh," Ben nodded, not protesting in the slightest.

"Ben, they're messy and irritable and they wake you up in the middle of the night to climb into your bed. They leave toys everywhere and they haul stuff out and leave it…" She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. "Why would you want children?"

"Yes," Ben agreed simply, as if she wasn't protesting a dream of his. Mal's shoulders sank lower. He looked at her, tracing her features, and a smile slid across his mouth. "They'd probably have your hair and your pout, and you'd give in every time they asked for candy because the secret would be you try and steal some just as much as they would. You'd go absolutely insane if they had either your magic or my big words, and you'd hate when they cried and you'd scream at everyone after they kept you up. And if they sing in the shower like you do when they get older, you'll plug your ears every time."

Mal sank further into the couch, groaning. Doug and Jane exchanged an impressed look. Everyone knew Mal had Ben wrapped around her little finger, but it wasn't often they stopped to consider that it was the exact same thing the other way around.

"But," Ben sighed, looking away from Mal with a smirk as he popped the first button on his shirt open and leaned back, "I'd probably have to remind you of all that. I mean, I always have to remind you of the things you don't like about me. I bet that you'd be the kind of person to cry the first time you hear them call you mom."

Mal wrinkled her lips up like she'd been given something that was exceptionally sour. She crossed her arms and sank so far into the couch that the cushions tickled her cheeks when she huffed. "I hate you," she scowled.

Ben snorted and picked up her hand to squeeze it. "Sure," he agreed, and somehow that was a victory.

* * *

It wasn't now. Now the sounds of her screams were hammering in his ears and his skin had turned to spiders that walked on little pins they were driving into his flesh. He leaned towards her, squeezing her hand even tighter while the doctors worked frantically.

They were bringing out a heart monitor and a scalpel. An IV with painkillers. They were asking him if he wanted to leave. Mal looked up, terrified. No, no.

He kissed her knuckles and didn't budge.

* * *

Ben pretended to be listening as he glanced behind Chad's head at the clock on the wall. Forty seconds. Forty seconds and then he could snap his binder closed and call the meeting to a halt until tomorrow.

"This system could put more raw lumber into Dun Broch, yes, but we also have to consider Oceania's forests are already unhealthy from the ocean wall they had," Chad explained. "I think we should continue pulling from Charmington for another two years while we finish healing that ecosystem. After that, we can begin restoration there."

"And go back and forth?" Tiancum asked. "I think it'd be better to begin pulling from Oceania now and then ease the burden on Charmington so we can have both restoration processes going at the same time."

Melody shook her head. "I don't think there's enough land for both the loggers and the conservation efforts to coincide." She looked down the table to Ben. "King Ben, what do you think?"

Ben hummed, drummed his fingers on the table, and then watched the hour hand of the clock shift to five. "I think," he sighed, leaning forward and not bothering to hide the smile that crossed his face, "That it's five o'clock and time for you all to go home. I'll look at whatever we did last time this was an issue and get back to you all tomorrow."

Everyone simultaneously turned to look at the clock and sighed in exasperation, relief, and exhaustion. Only Melody wrinkled her nose. "I see," she began flatly. "And so we're going to push this issue back to the end of our meeting tomorrow?"

"No, it'll be addressed right after the opening remarks," Ben decided, pushing his chair back. "But right now, it is five o'clock, and all of you are released. I am officially out of office." He waved. "Goodbye."

Audrey snorted. She was sat to Ben's immediate left, in the place the queen would be if she were sitting in on this meeting. "Someone's eager to get out," she commented. "Hot date tonight?"

"Nope," Ben shook his head with a bright smile. "I'm just looking forward to family time. Just me, my son, and my sunshine."

"Ah, I see," Audrey chuckled. "Because 'sun' and 'son' sound similar. Aren't you clever?"

The doors opened. People began to leave, chattering amicably about plans for the weekend and their recent lives. Someone yelped in surprise as someone pushed past them, rushing into the room. It was a person about three feet tall with sandy blonde hair, who giggled as he dashed around the table. Ben faked a gasp of shock and put his hands down to sweep the child off the floor and into his arms. "Ah! It's a monster!" He yelled as he pinned the child's arms to his sides and danced his fingers up and down his belly.

"No it's not!" the boy yelled as he laughed and writhed in Ben's arms. "It's me, dad!"

"Ah, I see," Ben nodded. "It's a Zach Monster!" He continued mercilessly tickling the child as the last few remaining advisors rolled their eyes and looked on with amused smiles. Zach managed to catch his father's face in between his hands and then sat on his legs to squish Ben's face. Ben complied, pursing his lips into a fish face that Zach immediately tried to mimic. He and Audrey both began to laugh as they watched Zach try to make his lips look the way Ben had.

"How much do I love you?" Ben asked Zach, and Zach flung his arms out on both sides.

"This much!" He whispered, like it was a secret between him and Ben.

"Nope, more than that!" Ben laughed and caught a glimpse of purple in the side of his vision. His smile broadened even more. "You know, dad loves you a lot, but there's one person he loves a lot more. Do you know who?"

"Me!" Zach whispered.

"Nope!" Ben shook his head and turned his son around to point at the person in the now-empty doorway. "Who's that?"

"Mommy!" Zach exclaimed, waving as Mal blushed, chuckled, and then made her way over to stand with a hand on Ben's chair as Zach squished Ben's face up to see the fish face again.

"Hello, beautiful," Ben paused long enough to stick his tongue out at Zach. "How was your day?"

"Busy," Mal shrugged with a little smile. "This one keeps me on my toes." She brushed off something on Zach's sleeve with a sigh. "He's got enough energy for the both of us."

"Did you wear mom out?" Ben asked Zach seriously. The little boy broke off into giggles and curled into his chest. Ben kissed the top of his head and squeezed him tightly in response.

Mal's hand moved from the back of the chair to Ben's shoulder. He glanced up at her as she nodded down at Zach. "How does another one of him sound?" she mumbled.

Audrey's eyes went a little wide as she glanced over to see Ben tilt his head, processing. "Eventually?" he asked. "Or nine months from now?"

"Eight, actually," Mal corrected softly. "But getting close to seven."

Ben looked down as Zach as Zach looked up and put his hands softly to Ben's cheeks. Ben's face broke out into an even wider grin. "Okay," he nodded and laughed. "Alright."

* * *

They never ended up getting the IV into her. Or the scalpel. Because about twenty seconds after the heart monitor was hooked up, The baby's head managed to turn enough for one of the nurses to use her hands to literally reach into Mal and help him get unstuck. Ben could tell the pain was blinding, but then one arm and one leg came out, and then-

There was a very loud, shrill noise coming from his right. Mal had stopped screaming. Or maybe he'd gone deaf and that was what the ringing was. He glanced over – what was that sound?

The heart monitor was screaming at them. The line across it was flat.

Ben reached forward and cupped Mal's cheek in his hand. He expected her to look up at him, but her head lolled. And it was then that Ben realized the doctors were all rushing around, shouting. From the emergency equipment that had come with them came a pair of defibrillators. He was wrenched back and made to stand by the door. One of the nurses hurried by and pressed the newborn into his hands before returning to the bedside to try and revive his mother.

A boy. It was a boy. But Ben could hardly see anything through the shock.

What had happened? What was happening?

It seemed like eternities of noise and rush before everything stopped. The doctor flipped off the monitor and turned around to stare at him forlornly. And that was when the reality began to crash down on Ben.

"I'm sorry, your majesty," he whispered. "The pain was just… too much for her."

What? For Mal? Powerful Mal? Fae Mal?

Ben handed the baby, who he hadn't even taken a proper look at yet, back to the nurse. "Please," He mumbled. "Clean him off."

The other nurse, whose eyes were brimming with tears as she hobbled to the door, didn't say a word to him. He heard the door unlock before she squealed: "She's gone!" to the whole world.

The doctor pulled a sheet over Mal's body. The sweat across her brow had frozen.

Ben stumbled back to her side, where he'd spent ages trying to support her, and squeezed her cold, increasingly hard hand. Oh gods, she couldn't be dead. How could she be dead? How had this happened?

He could hear his mother crying out in the hall. What was he going to tell Zach? How was he going to get on without his fairy? What was he going to do?

"Your majesty," the nurse who'd taken the new baby mumbled. She passed him the child back, cleaned off, and Ben felt tears coming on as he looked down and realized the child had a head full of purple hair. Her hair.

"Time of death," the doctor began to say, but Ben cut him off.

"Everyone out, please," he commanded. He rose to his feet and began to escort everyone to the door. "Out, now," he called.

His mother was hovering in the doorway, trying to see her daughter-in-law. Ben handed her the new baby, who was still sniffling, and guided her back out. "I need some time alone with her," he told everyone.

Zach was waiting behind his grandfather, glancing around cautiously as nurses and grandma all began to cry. "Mom?" He called, craning his head into the room. "Mom?"

Ben turned him back around gently and shut the door. He locked it for good measure.

Everything felt so empty. Their room, their space, their lives had been violated. Ben tripped over the sheets which had been stripped from the bed earlier and then gathered them up. He could hardly bear to see them. He kicked the door to the bathroom open and dumped everything into the tub before returning to the bedroom and doing the same with anything else he could find. Even the scalpel was dumped into the sink and the IV pushed behind the door before Ben shut the door tightly on anything hospital and returned to his seat beside the bed.

He pushed the chair right up against Mal's bedside.

He pulled the sheet down that was covering her grey face and cool flesh.

When he took her hand to cup it tightly, it was hard and not warm or soft at all. Tears did brim in his eyes then as his stomach turned. They burned his cheeks as he bowed his head and began to sob over her. Sobbing for lost memories and all their hard work and the fact he didn't have another half anymore.

His fingertips ached towards the switch of the heart monitor, which had been left untouched in his rampage. He flipped it on and listened to the soft whining.

Then, he removed his coat and set it over the back of the chair. He rolled up his white sleeves up to his elbows and squeezed Mal's hand even tighter. Then, the words started spilling out of his throat before he could stop them. "I know you're still here," he snapped. And as he spoke, they were true. He could feel the magic in her presence. He could still feel her love.

"I know you wouldn't have left me that fast. Because you love me too much. You wouldn't have died without me."

Ben hiccupped and scrubbed at his eyes before reaching for her other hand too.

"I still need you," he announced. "You promised you would be here. From those first moments we were together until the last time we fall asleep together, you promised you would be here. And I, Mal Bertha, am holding you to that promise."

Mal remained still. Nothing moved. Still, he set his jaw and kept talking.

"How am I supposed to raise them without you, Mal?" he asked. "How could I ever be King without you as my Queen? How am I ever going to love anything ever again?" He let go of her hands and cupped her cheeks. "Don't you remember me? Don't you remember everything we've done. No one has ever fought for you like I have. We have something. We're real. I know these last months have been purgatory for you. I know there were moments you wished you could go back to the Isle instead. You know I wished it could be me instead. For whatever the weight of these words are, I will gladly pay three times my punishment for this ordeal if you'll just come back to me."

He was pleading with a body. The dead body of his marvelous wife. But it wasn't as if he had any other options left. "Faeries don't break promises," he whispered to her. "I know it's been hard and I know you've been hurt. But you promised me, Mal. Please, don't leave me." Then, with every ounce of strength he could conjure behind his words, he made his final imploration. "I'm begging you."

Nothing happened, which was a bit insulting because Ben had always heard that there was power in the begging of a king. His words must already be true – he was no king without a queen. Tears clouded his vision again and he collapsed onto Mal's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. She was gone, she was gone, she was gone.

He was crying so hard that he almost missed the first beep. It caught him so off guard that he sat, gasping for breath, before the second one reached his ears. Then, he jumped back up.

The heart monitor had come back to life and, while it had started out slow, was beginning to pick up a steady rhythm. Ben stared down at Mal as her cheeks began to take color again and she took a long, deep breath. How? How could this be? Already, she'd been gone for almost twenty minutes.

Ben leaned forward and cupped her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped for breath. He kept his hands on her face, combing through her hair with his fingertips, as her eyes sought out something to focus on. What they found him, he watched her mouth fall slack with shock.

"How did you do that?" she mumbled.

Ben just cupped her cheek and began to cry again as he sobbed in relief. "Let's call it True Love's Fatal Fight," he suggested, then practically threw himself into her embrace. Shaky hands tangled into his hair and traced down his back as he cried himself to pieces atop her. He should be comforting her right now, but he couldn't get over the fact he'd almost lost her, and then she'd come back.

"It's okay now," she mumbled in his ear. "I… can't believe that happened."

"Don't you leave me," Ben hiccupped, scrubbing at his eyes. "Don't you dare do that again."

"Ben?" Mal gasped and then tried to sit up, looking frantically around the room. "The baby. Where are they? Are they-" she broke off with tears of her own forming.

"No, no," Ben shook his head and squeezed her hands. "They're outside. A boy. Mom has him." He kissed both of her cheeks. "Do you – I mean – do you want to see him?"

Mal relaxed, giving his hands a last squeeze, and nodded. "Okay," she mumbled softly.

It took a lot of courage to pry himself off of her and to detach himself from her side, but he managed to struggle away and stumble to the door before unlocking it and revealing the scene behind the door.

Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Hades had all arrived. They were slumped in a huddle with Belle and Adam. Evie was holding onto Zach, who looked bewildered but very solemn as everyone around him cried. Everyone else was huddled over Belle's shoulder, crying over the new baby.

It had been a very long eight months and now, to them, they'd lost one of the closest members of their family.

"Ben," Hades murmured upon seeing him appear in the doorway. "Ben. Are you alright?"

The question was said with some hesitation, as if his father-in-law was aware of how ridiculous the question was. Ben didn't respond. He only held out his hand at a child's level and cleared his throat. "Zach?" He called. "Do you want to come see Mom?"

Evie gave him a look that said, quite clearly, "Are you insane?"

Zach wrestled out of her stunned grip and hurried into the room. Ben stepped forward to take the baby from Belle. "Sorry," he mumbled. "She wants to see him now."

"What?" Jay demanded in a bewildered tone. Ben ignored them all and re-entered the room. Zach had climbed up on the bed beside his mom, ignoring all the sweat and filth covering her. Mal was hugging him tightly, kissing his forehead and petting her hands down his back. When she saw Ben with the Newborn, she outstretched a hand but kept Zach pinned tightly to her other side. Ben nestled the new boy into her other arm, pressed up against her ribs, and watched the newborn stop crying at her familiar heartbeat. Zach glanced curiously at the new baby while Ben laid down beside Mal and curled into her side, emotionally exhausted. Mal seemed beyond happy and content now that all three of her boys were nestled against her skin.

Everyone followed him in. He heard delighted and bewildered and shocked gasps as the family crowded in. The heart monitor was still beeping along silently. Ben couldn't be bothered to explain anything to anyone or flip off the machine as he wrapped his arms around every member of his tiny family and began kissing Mal's cheek intermittently.

"You're alive!" Belle exclaimed as Hades stepped to the side of the bed opposite Ben and ran his thumb down his daughter's cheek to wipe away tears. "We thought – the maid told us you had flatlined."

Mal blushed and briefly unwrapped one of her arms to catch her tears before they could drop onto either Zach or the newborn. "I did," she affirmed. "It was really weird. One moment there was a lot of pain and then the next I was walking around my bed trying to figure out what had happened."

"You died," Hades muttered, swallowing. "I felt it. But you didn't leave or anything."

"I was starting to," Mal blushed. "But Ben threw everyone out and, well, brought me back."

At this, Ben turned his face further into her shoulder. He didn't want to think about it right now. His reluctance to speak didn't stop everyone else(especially his father-in-law) from wanting answers.

"What? How?"

"He brought you back?"

Mal shifted her hand to comb through Ben's hair. "I think it was a lot of things," she mumbled. "But the last thing was when he asked me to come back. I just… melted straight back into my body."

"He asked you to come back and so you jumped back into your body?"

"He also said I'd promised him and I couldn't break that promise because I'm-"

"Mal," Ben cut her off by mumbling her name into her neck. "Don't tell them."

"Why not?" Adam demanded, miffed. But Mal nodded.

"You're right," she mumbled, leaning her head onto Ben's. "It's our story. Ours."

"Please," Ben looked up then and skimmed his eyes around the group. "Can you leave us for a while? We've been through a lot. One of us just died." He nuzzled closer to Mal's neck. "We'll come out in a while. Just let our family be alone for a while."

Belle was the first person to comply and move back to the door. Mal started kissing Zach's and the new baby's heads, occasionally reaching up to touch Ben's face and neck. Hades was the last person to leave. He hesitated, examining Ben with a newfound respect. Ben had always sensed a little… distance in between him and Hades but couldn't feel any of that now. Apparently straying through the rules regarding the realm of death – Hades's Realm – was enough to finally earn equal standing with Mal's dad.

The door shut softly. Zach twisted and put his arms around Mal's neck. Her skin was still sticky with sweat, but none of the three people piled on her minded. "Mommy?' he mumbled. "Did you go away?'

"Only for a little while," Mal whispered. "But it's okay. I'm back now and Daddy and I are going to stay together with you boys."

Zach nodded and set the side of his head against her collarbone. The new baby let out a sigh, yawned, and closed their eyes to fall asleep on her. Ben moved his arms to better hug all three people, kissed Mal's head, and closed his eyes again. "You promise you aren't going anywhere?" He mumbled against her skin.

"I promise," she replied.

"Good," he whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too."


	36. The Interview

**There's a Descendants Fanfic Poll up on my profile page. Please go cast a vote so I know what I should work on next.**

**Ben and Mal play an interview game testing their marriage.**

* * *

"How long have you been married?"

Mal balked at the question, even though she knew it was being asked for historical reasons. Ben jumped to her rescue. "One-thousand-eight-hundred-and-ninety-nine days," he announced. "Five years, two months and thirteen days."

"And tomorrow it'll be five years, two months and fourteen days," Mal thought. " One-thousand-nine-hundred."

"Wow," the interviewer responded over a speaker. The cameras were rolling and focused on them, but the interviewers were off-screen, standing behind the camera line and microphoned. "That's impressive. Well, we're going to be playing a few games here today in our interview, testing your marriage just a little bit."

Mal knew this. Ben knew it too. The waivers and releases were all signed and filed in the back room. This was only being said for the viewers.

"You each have a team of people who know you very well. Can you introduce them?"

Ben and Mal turned around. There were two groups, one of boys and one of girls, standing behind them. "This is Adam, my dad, along with Doug, Jay, Carlos, and Mal's dad Hades. Over there is Evie, Jane, Lonnie, my old girlfriend Audrey, and my mom," Ben explained, pointing to each person in turn. "These are the people closest to us. They're here to challenge and assist us.

Everyone nodded. Mal squeezed Ben's hand. She was so nervous. Why was she so nervous?

"So the goal today is to prove you know each other the best. For the first round, it's going to be pretty simple. Each of you will pick one person from the other person's team who you think knows you the best. They'll be competing in a short trivia game about you and your spouse."

Ben nodded and turned around. Mal followed him a moment later. "It's between Audrey and my mom," Ben hummed.

"The trivia is relationship-based, not person-focused," the announcer reminded Ben.

"Fair point," Ben nodded. "Audrey." The blonde-haired girl stepped forward with a nod.

Mal skimmed over her husband's team. She and Hades were closer now than when she'd married, but he probably didn't know enough to hold his ground against Ben. "Jay," she decided.

"Who wants to go first?" The announcer asked.

Ben looked at her and Mal swallowed. "I will," She volunteered.

"Ben and Jay are up," the announcer declared. "Now, Mal, we're going to put you in the hotspot here. Then we're going to ask five questions. The boys get the chance to answer on paper and then we will see who does know more. If Ben knows more, you earn points. If Jay knows more, you lose points." A stagehand in black directed Mal to sit in a wooden chair in the front and center of the room. A red circle was painted around it. She nodded and rubbed her hands on her knees as she took a seat. With luck, no one outside of Ben and the VK's would see her nervousness. Ben walked to one side of Mal, about five yards away, and then Jay took up the opposite side. Both men were handed a clipboard with paper and a pencil. "Here are the questions," the announcer called as the cameras panned into her face. "One, what is Mal's full name? Two, name the person outside of the both of you two who Mal is closest to. Three, where does Mal see herself in ten years? Four, name Mal's biggest regret. Five, name the thing that makes Mal feel appreciated."

Mal took a deep breath and pretended not to notice the boys scribbling. She, having approved her own questions, had been confident in them before they'd been asked. Now... what if Ben didn't know them?

"Gentlemen, ready?" The announcer asked. Both Ben and Jay nodded. "Okay, gentlemen, what is Mal's full name?"

Ben gestured at Jay to go first. Jay straightened his paper. "Maleficent Stephens," he announced. Mal wrinkled her nose.

On her other side, Ben pinched his lips together. "She has a middle name," he called.

"She does?" Jay blinked. "Welp, I'm screwed."

Everyone laughed. Behind the three, Hades pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ben, what did you have?" the announcer called.

"You kidding?" Ben snorted. "I know better than to say that to a camera." He walked over and showed Mal the top of his paper. She scowled to see the ugly name scrawled across the top, then nodded.

"That's it," she agreed.

"Okay," The announcer confirmed with laughter in his tone. "Now, who is she closest to, outside of the both of you?"

"Evie," Jay responded immediately.

"I actually said Hades," Ben replied. He'd retaken his spot apart from Mal. "She's been hanging out with him more and more now the last few years."

Mal flushed. 'Actually, I would say Evie too," she admitted.

A loud penalty buzzer sounded. Ben groaned. "It's okay!" Lonnie called. "You're the only one who actually matters - everyone else shares her spare time."

Ben shrugged. "Oh well." he smiled at her, but Mal's heart was thudding. He hadn't known? Why not? She supposed that yes, she'd been spending more time with Hades, but Evie had always been her confidant and her supporter... second only to Ben.

"Where does Mal see herself in ten years?"

"Married," Jay replied in a dry tone. "And old. Maybe with a kid or two." Mal turned bright pink.

"I also put 'still married to me'," Ben agreed. "But we aren't really a couple to plan ahead. Children aren't on her radar, or mine. We don't know what we'll be doing. We just know that we want to be together."

Mal pointed to Ben and nodded. "That's right," she affirmed.

"Name Mal's biggest regret."

"Taking the wand at Ben's coronation."

"Closing the barrier after we were engaged."

"Those are both really good ones," Mal chewed on her lip. "The one I was thinking of was the thing with the Isle." Ben pumped a fist and Mal found herself smiling. They were on the same page. It was all okay.

"Name the one thing that always makes her feel appreciated."

Jay exhaled. "I just put when people follow her plans."

Across the room, Ben shook his head. "When someone tells her that they're proud of her and she can see the effects of her work." By now, Mal was blushing so hard that she had to cover her face with her hands. Still, she nodded. The teams cheered and Mal took a moment to glance behind the camera lines, where the point counters read four to one. Ben had won - even if he'd lost the second point. Now, it was her turn.

Mal's hands shook as she took Ben's place. He squeezed her arm as he walked to the hotspot chair. "Loosen up," he whispered. "We've got this." Across the room, Audrey replaced Jay.

Mal couldn't hear the announcer but still laughed a little when Ben's questions appeared on an off-camera screen in front of her. Despite the fact there'd been many optional questions about politics and families and work, she and Ben had picked similar questions based on similar subjects. Now, in front of her, were: "What is Ben's full name? Where does Ben see himself in ten years? If Ben was locked away who, besides the two of you, would he count on to release him? What is one thing in a relationship Ben requires? If Ben is feeling sad, what makes him feel better?"

"You're going down, Mal," Audrey teased from across Ben. Mal let out a dry laugh. She scribbled down her answers on a piece of paper and then glanced over to her rival and friend.

"What do you have for Ben's full name, Mal?" The interviewer asked.

Mal glanced over at Ben. His middle name was open record, but not formally used. Still, she waited for his little nod before clearing her throat. "Benjamin Florian Stephans."

Audrey looked up across the room in surprise. "Oh, I did King Benjamin Stephans," she admitted. "I didn't know he had a middle name. But don't you have to have his title?"

"I don't think so." Mal shook her head. "Right, Ben?"

Both girls turned to stare at Ben. A look of severe anxiety passed over his face. "Um, I don't know," he admitted. "I know that you don't, Mal, because you're the consort, but I'm, uh, official. If my title's not used, it's not considered legitimate..." He leaned back in his chair to face the rest of his team. "Dad?" He called.

"You need the title," Adam affirmed. "It's considered part of your legal name. They're both wrong."

"No points!" The announcer declared. Mal's heart dropped into her stomach. No points? She didn't even know Ben's name?

"Where does Ben see himself in ten years?"

"Married," Mal blurted out immediately. "He'd like to have children at some point but, as he said before, there's no schedule. He's still going to be king and he's hoping to be passing laws making it easier for humanoids to live in society."

"Oh, that's not in ten years," Ben shook his head. "I want to have that done by next year, or the year after if everything goes wrong and takes forever."

"I put happily married to Mal, maybe a father, and he mentioned two weeks ago that it'd be nice to not have to live in the palace, so I put that as well," Audrey announced. Ben hesitated, then nodded.

"Audrey is right. But Mal wasn't too far off the mark."

"Oof, Mal!" Carlos called. "What's up?" Meanwhile, Mal's hands were shaking. She'd been so sure... and she'd known all of that too! Her little exaggeration had cost her that question when she knew it.

"If Ben was locked away, then-"

"My friends," Mal interrupted. "Evie, Jay, and Carlos."

"I specified Jay and Carlos," Audrey agreed.

Ben frowned. "Geesh, I put my mom. I was thinking legally incarcerated, not being held as ransom or anything."

"No points," the announcer affirmed. "What's one thing Ben requires in a relationship?"

Mal had to compose herself before answering. Number four and she hadn't gotten a single point. Hades had raised his eyebrow and everyone else was exchanging glances. "Ben likes to be touched and held," she began. "He grew up with hugs and kisses and that's what he associates with relationships."

Across the room, Audrey blinked. "I put conversation," she admitted.

"Mal's right," Ben smiled over at her. "And you can calm down. We're not going to divorce just because you forgot the title that we both never use." scattered laughter echoed around the room from the camerahelps and their friends. Mal clutched her paper.

"What helps when Ben is sad?"

"Beef ragu," Audrey chirped from across the room, folding her paper in half. "It's his favorite comfort food."

"Weighted blankets and cuddles," Mal shook her head. "Right, Ben?"

"I feel like I'm being fought over," Ben complained. The interviewer had to cover the microphone to laugh. "And you're both right! My full response when I submitted the questions was eating beef ragu on the couch with a blanket and a movie and my wife."

"Well then, you're tied," The announcer declared. "Two for two, making for a total of Bal six and friends three."

Two? Ben had gotten four over Jay's one! Mal clenched her teeth together.

"Who wants to go first on round two?" the announcer asked.

"I'm already sitting," Ben volunteered, "Isn't this the one with the blindfold?"

"It is," The interviewer affirmed as one of the stagehands took a blindfold from where it had been set on a nearby chair and held it up. It was a nasty color of teal that made Evie and Audrey both flinch. "Could the boys come off-screen, please? Ladies, if you could all please remove rings and bracelets? This game is to see if Ben can find Mal based on her hand. For every incorrect guess, the other team will have a point added. For every person Ben correctly rules out, he and Mal score a point."

Mal watched the stagehand bind the blindfold around Ben's eyes. "Oh, this is gonna be fun," Evie smirked, pulling her wedding band off and handing it to Doug as he walked away. Belle, Jane, and Lonnie all quickly removed their rings as well while Audrey unclipped several jangly bracelets. Mal took off her ring with a deep breath and took it over to Ben. He smiled and tucked it into his breast pocket. Horrible visions of Ben refusing to give it back filled her head. "It'll be okay," Ben whispered.

Why had she agreed to do this? Why was this considered fun?

Now that Ben was blindfolded, he couldn't send her the reassuring looks she'd been relying so heavily on. Evie gave her a quick shoulder squeeze, but Mal brushed her off because the cameras ere directed at the girls as they gathered into a group. "Okay, ladies, hold up your hands!" Evie commanded in a whisper. Everyone did and began quickly comparing sizes, lengths, and noticeable differences. Jane and Audrey had the smallest hands with Mal and Belle lose behind. Mal's were longer and harder than Belle's, but also more narrow. Evie and Lonnie had the largest hands.

I'm probably going to be ruled out," Evie mumbled. "My hands are too soft." Mal nodded in agreement. Evie stepped up and then took Ben's hand. Mal's stomach turned.

Ben immediately turned his hands so that his and Evie's fingers weren't in-between and then began to feel the tips of her fingers instead. It looked like he was-

"Are you feeling her nails?" Carlos demanded.

Everyone burst into laughter as Ben found Evie's manicured nails and then dropped her hand. "Evie," he declared with a smug smirk crossing his mouth. Evie shrugged with a sigh and walked off the stage. Jane and Audrey were ruled out by similar methods, though a skeptical look had crossed Ben's face upon touching both of their hands. Mal had barely been able to keep a growl out of her throat when Audrey had tangled her fingers into Ben's.

With her, Belle, and Lonnie left, they went through a quick pointing match of who's next. Belle finally stepped forward and everyone tried not to laugh as Ben held hands with his mom. Ben finally frowned. "I'm not sure about this one," he admitted, then stopped holding her hand to run his fingertips up and down her skin. "Her nails are the same shape... her hand feels pretty close... but it's still just... something's different."

"Do you want another hand?" The interviewer asked.

Ben nodded and Lonnie gestured for Mat to step forward. She swallowed as she went back to Ben's other side and then took his left hand. Ben immediately whipped his head around with a smile. "Here she is!" He exclaimed, letting go of Belle and squeezing Mal's palm with both hands. He pulled her forward to kiss her cheek quickly and used her presence to get to his feet. "I think that other person was probably my mom and I haven't had Lonnie's hand yet. Is that right?"

A winning buzzer echoed across the room. Ben smiled as he pulled the blindfold off his eyes. He fished her ring out of her pocket and gave it back to her before twisting his own off his finger. Mal's mouth fell into a pout as he put it in her palm. Around them, the boys were switching rings with their partners and heading into the arena. Mal watched Hades removed his gloves, roll up his sleeves, and rub his hands to warm them up. Jay cracked all his knuckles. Ben helped Mal sit down before a stagehand came on to take the blindfold from him and secure it around her eyes. Then, she waited while everyone whispered around her.

The first hand was not Ben's. Their fingers were not as long and their hands were cold. Their skin was rough. Mal bit her lip. Jay had long fingers which he had used for pickpocketing. Carlos's fingers were shorter, but his hand was warm and he had a hard scar at the base of his thumbnail from working with electronics. Adam, she didn't know. Doug, she didn't know. She squeezed the person's hand and they squeezed back with a strong vice grip. Mal let out a breath and tried to focus when she caught a whiff of leather and earth. "Dad?" She asked, and heard a winning buzzer ding in the distance. Hades let her go.

The next person also had cold hands. He also had crooked fingers and a bitten thumbnail. Mal recalled seeing Doug bite his nails when puzzling over hard problems. "Doug," she decided, much quicker than she had on Hades.

She knew Jay's hand the moment it brushed against hers from all the years she'd watched him stealing and fighting. The winning buzzer didn't even matter. She knew it was him before he'd even finished taking her hand.

Then the fourth hand threw her.

They had thicker fingers than Jay and Doug but thinner than Hades's. Their hand was warm. Their fingers wrapped around her knuckles just the way Ben's usually did. For everything that counted, they were exactly the same. Mal bit her lip. She turned their hand around and felt their nails. Well-kept, just like Ben's. Kept a little shorter on his thumb and index fingers so that he could tap a phone screen without a clicking sound. A smooth spot on his wrist where a watch normally was.

This felt like Ben's hand. But what if she was wrong? Something just didn't feel right, and she didn't know what it was.

"What do you think, Mal?" The interviewer asked.

Mal's shoulders shook. "I don't know," she admitted, slouching forward a little. "It... it feels the same. There are the same grooves in his palm here and he squeezes my hand the same way and it feels like the right size, but I just don't know!" She could feel tears welling in her eyes under the blindfold. She'd have black marks under her eyes when the blindfold was removed. Ben had known her the moment she'd touched him. "I need another hand. Can I have another hand?"

There were footsteps, and someone else took her other hand. Mal's heart dropped. They were equally similar. And when they squeezed her hand, she reacted without thinking and squeezed back. And they were warm and had also been wearing a watch. Mal found a deformity on their pinkie nail, but she couldn't remember for the life of her if Ben had had something similar coming into the interview. She leaned forward, chewing on her lip in inner turmoil. "Oh, my gosh," She moaned.

Who was left? Carlos? Carlos had a callous under his thumbnail. Mal dropped the first person's hand and traced her fingertip over the newcomer's thumb. "Carlos!" she announced upon finding it and shoved his hand away. "That one is Carlos!" She took the first person's hand again. "Last hand, please."

"Mal, it's okay if-" Evie started to say from offscreen.

"Last hand," Mal cut her off firmly.

There were heavy footsteps approaching from behind and then Mal breathed in the scent of something spicy and soothing and so, so familiar. "Oh!" She exclaimed, spinning around and letting go of the other person. "There you are!" She was crying in relief underneath the blindfold. When they took it off, everyone on TV would know how nervous she was.

"You didn't even take his hand!" Lonnie sputtered off camera. "How do you know it's him?"

Part of Mal knew that if this other person wasn't Ben, she'd be mortified, but she was so relieved at the thought of having him near again that she got to her feet and held her hands out for the other person. She caught the lapels of his suit - his suit, when only one of the men had been in a suit today and buried her face into his. Ben's low laugh slowly eased her fears away. She did know him. She knew his scent. She knew his footsteps. She didn't even need his hand.

The buzzer went off. Mal stayed facing Ben and slowly removed the blindfold. Ben's smile dropped as he immediately brought his hands up at edge away the mascara marks. "You okay?" He whispered.

Mal nodded. "Just stressed," she muttered. She glanced over her shoulder and glared at the Ben Imposter that had had her stumped. "It was you!" she hissed.

Former King Adam only looked impressed as he rubbed his hands together and nodded. "Well done," he congratulated her. "I thought I had you stumped."

"Like Father, like son," the interviewer laughed. "Okay, it's time for our last and final challenge. Mal wasn't able to guess Adam correctly, so she gained four points plus the one for identifying Ben, and Ben scored a perfect five on all his imposters with a sixth for finding Mal."

"She would have gotten him if she hadn't removed the blindfold after finding me," Ben shrugged. But still, he sighed and accepted the readings for the round. They were far ahead of the other team anyways.

One of the stagehands stepped forward into the camera's view. "I'm Bliss!" She announced, both to the camera and them. "I have a Ph.D. in psychology and own a clinic in Auradon where we specialize in hypnotism. I'm also half-fairy, and my clinic is known for combining magic and practical medicine to help people overcome additions, disorders, and other issues." She shook both hers and Ben's hands before turning back to the cameras. "What we're going to do here today is I'm going to use a combination of magic and hypnosis to make King Ben and Queen Mal temporarily forget everything about each other. The goal is to see if they can find themselves without any memories to help them. When they've successfully managed t guess each other, their memories will return. Every person they guess wrong will be counted against them."

"That's right," The interviewer confirmed. "Are you ready?"

Ben looked down at her. Her hands were still clutching the front of his suit. "Are you ready?" He whispered.

Mal was entirely aware of the cameras panning in on them. A microphone hovered a meter from her mouth, suspended from the ceiling so they could hear her response. "Yeah," she nodded, squeezing his hand.

She'd done interviews before. She and Ben had played interview games together and she'd answered questions and it had been normal. But this one, testing their relationship, was different. She felt like she was being tested on her compatibility with him, which was ridiculous. She knew she loved him. She knew he loved her. She knew they were close. But what if this just proved what she'd been suspecting for years? That she couldn't love as deeply or as true as he could? What if, by some stroke of fate, whatever she felt wasn't "real love" because she just wasn't able to feel it? What if she was broken?

Ben sat down first. Just like before, all the married women took off their wedding rings so as not to give him any hints before lining up behind him. Mal hesitated before passing her ring back over. It'd been off far too many times today. Mal ended up on the far left side of the line as Bliss approached Ben. As the cameras moved to better focus on her expression, Ben turned back around and gave her a reassuring smile.

What if he didn't love her as much as they both thought he did? What if he picked wrong - how would she feel? What if, when he got his memories back, everything was different?

She smiled back.

Evie left her place in line to give Mal a comforting hug as the hypnotist drew Ben's attention back to her to begin the process by flipping a glowing coin in front of his eyes. With a snap, Ben slumped forward, asleep. Bliss caught him before he could fall and announced to the room: "When you wake up, you won't remember anything or anyone until you have chosen your wife out of all of your friends."

There were other things. Spells and commands. Then, she snapped again, and Ben jerked back to life. "Can you hear me?" Bliss asked.

"Yes," Ben nodded.

"Can you tell me what you're doing here?"

Ben looked towards the cameras and the people behind them in something like amazement. "No," he replied, holding his hands up and staring at them incredulously. He pulled off his wedding ring and held it up to the light. "It sparkles," he muttered and the camera crew laughed. Mal had a feeling that his reaction would become a meme that the kingdom would use for the next twenty years. Hades, behind the line, let his gaze flicker from his daughter to his son in law. Ben hadn't noticed them.

"Do you know who you are?"

Ben was genuinely disturbed by the question. He thought about it for a very long time and then shook his head. "No," he admitted. "Do you know?"

"Yes," Bliss assured him. "Your name is Ben and you're here playing a game. You agreed to it before we put you to sleep. The goal is to find your wife. Once you find her, all your memories will come back."

Ben looked around. "Where?" he asked, then saw Lonnie out of the far side of his vision. "Oh!" he exclaimed, jumping in surprise as he whipped around in surprise. "There are people back there!"

More laughter. Ben stared at them all. Mal's stomach churned when his eyes flit over her without pause. "One of them?" He asked Bliss.

"Yes," Bliss agreed. "We're going to time you to see how long it takes. Every wrong guess is a point against you, though, so be careful."

"What if I guess wrong?" Ben asked. Bliss blinked at him with a deadpan expression. "I mean - I know that I'll lose points, but will she get mad at me?"

"Well, she's going to do the same thing after you, so it'll depend on how well she does." Bliss motioned to the group and began to retreat. "We're starting the time now. They all know you quite well, so you can ask them questions about them and you, but you can't ask about relationships or any related subjects."

"I don't like this game," Ben said aloud, getting to his feet. He wobbled as he found his center of balance and then took a few focused steps forward. "Um, can I know everyone's names?"

"I'm Belle."

"I'm Lonnie."

"I'm Evie."

"I'm Jane."

"I'm Audrey."

"I'm Mal."

"Mal," Ben repeated, staring suspiciously at her. Mal tilted her head to the side and watched Ben examine her face intently before turning towards Belle. "How old are you?"

Mal's stomach dropped when he turned away, but she couldn't resist laughing at the question. Belle pinched her lips together. "I'm fifty-one," she told him.

"How old am I?" Ben asked her.

"Twenty-four."

Ben hummed and then shook her head. "I don't think it's you," he told her. "You're not her."

A ding sounded around the room. Ben jumped and looked all around as Belle smiled and walked off.

"Does that mean I was right?" Ben asked.

"Yup," Lonnie nodded, biting her lip at his startled expression.

Ben glanced back down the line and this time, his eyes hovered on Mal. But then he looked back at all the other girls and Mal notice his eyes clinging to Evie.

He pointed to Audrey. "If you had to give a number, how many people would you say I've kissed?"

Audrey looked startled by the question. "Um..." she trailed off. Mal wanted to spit out 'Four' but kept her lips locked. Ben glanced at her again and she schooled her anxiousness away. "Um, maybe two?" She glanced away, slightly towards Mal, and then caught herself and averted her gaze. Ben, however, glanced at the next person in line, who was Evie. He admired her face, her clothes and shoes, and then hovered on her mouth and eyes before clearing his throat.

"How long have I known you?"

"About eight years," Evie replied.

"Are we close?"

"You can't ask that."

Ben pinched his lips together. Mal watched Evie twist her hands. Her best friend was probably as nervous to be mistaken for Ben's wife as Mal was to see if Ben would mistake her.

"What's... my favorite place to go to?"

"To eat?"

"Sure."

"You don't like going out to eat. You like to stay at home."

"Where do you like to go?"

"Auradon Accelerated's Campus Diner."

Ben hummed and glanced surreptitiously at the other girls down the line. Mal tried not to ball her fists. The clock behind Ben told them that five minutes had gone by. Ben ran his fingers through his hair. "This is hard," he murmured.

Audrey shifted her weight. Ben chewed on his lip and then pointed to both her and Evie. "What's one thing you hate about me?" He demanded.

Both looked startled. They looked to each other and then Audrey swallowed. "There isn't really... a thing, but you've done some things in the past that hurt me."

"I dislike some of your political views," Evie shrugged. "But there's not much else."

Ben looked at Jane, who answered: "I think you're a bit disorganized when it comes to detail management."

Ben ignored Lonnie and looked past Jane to Mal. Mal swallowed. "I don't like how you're always a little unsure of yourself when you're around your parents."

It was a gutsy thing to say on TV with both parents behind the line, but Mal waved away her blush and watched Ben's eyes narrow at her. He took Evie and Audrey and moved them to stand beside her. The clock was counting up to eight minutes. "I think it's between you three," he mumbled, then blushed and turned towards the other girls. "I hope I'm not wrong, otherwise I'll have to go jump off a bridge somewhere."

"You're doing great," Evie soothed. "It's all going to be okay."

Ben took a deep breath and shook his head. "I have this feeling," he murmured. "It's like... I know who she was. In my bones, I know what she was like. But questions and looks and everything... that's only scratching the surface. I knew her as a person, not an image."

Mal felt like melting into her shoes. Ben exhaled and then looked all around at them. Noticed Audrey's jangly bracelets and the tan line on Evie's ring finger. Noticed the slouch of Mal's spine and the way she kept trying to focus on his eyes to see what was there. Then, he looked toward Evie and winced. "Is it you?" he asked uncertainly.

Mal's heart plummeted into her stomach.

A penalty buzzer sounded as Evie shook her head. Ben covered his face with his hands. "Oh no," he mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm trying... I swear I feel like I know her... she's right on the tip of my tongue, but..."

Evie patted his arm and walked offstage to where Doug was waiting, looking anxious. Ben looked heartbroken he'd failed to find her as he glanced around at the last four girls. Lonnie and Jane gathered into a circle with Mal and Audrey around Ben and began to offer suggestions.

"Try saying our names and see who feels the most familiar to say."

"Maybe you could ask us questions about what we think about her?"

"You were able to find her by hand-holding. Do you want to try that again?"

Ben shook his head and then sat down on the floor. "I just don't know," He mumbled. "I don't know."

Mal reached forward and patted his arm. A spark flew from her to him and he jumped. Static electricity, but he still looked up at her curiously. Then, he got back to his feet.

The clock was going on eleven minutes.

Ben opened his arms. "Can I have a hug?" He asked.

Mal nodded and slowly wrapped her arms around him. His own hands found their usual places, one on her back and the other behind her waist, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh," he realized. "Here you are."

There was a winning buzzer as Ben's hands steadied on her. His final time was eleven minutes and thirty-seven seconds. She felt herself being hugged so tightly into his frame that it wasn't really "Mal and Ben" but "MalandBen". "No room for Jesus here," she laughed.

"I'm so sorry, Mal," Ben moaned, burying his face in her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I saw Evie's ring line and I just thought... I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Mal whispered, running her fingertips up and down his back. "All over."

"Except now it's your turn," he laughed. And Mal's heart stopped.

She heard him calling her name but couldn't respond for several seconds. "Ben," She mumbled into his ear, "I don't think I can do it. I won't be able to find you."

"You don't have to," Ben whispered, though the hypnotist was waiting for her now. "We can go home now. It's okay. I know it's scary."

Scary. Yes. She was scared. She felt like she was being measured up to and she knew she was going to come up short. And then what? What would she do?

But on the flip side, if she didn't, she'd never know the truth.

"I... I'm going to try," She mumbled and Ben nodded. She slowly unwrapped herself and then, with shaking hands, let him go to walk to the hotspot.

"Hey," Ben pulled her back and revealed her ring. "Don't forget. This is still yours. It's always going to be." And then, on that note, he slipped his off and hid it away in his breast pocket. Mal swallowed and nodded.

She sat down as the boys and girls were switching on-camera roles. The hypnotist held out a glowing coin that immediately drew her in. The rest of the world seemed fuzzy.

"Focus on my hands," she commanded as Mal chewed on her lip and tried to focus on Ben. It was becoming harder and harder now.

"Stay calm. We're just going to put you to sleep."

And she snapped. And the world was dark.

* * *

A sound like thunder woke her and she jerked away and toppled out of the place she'd been sitting in, bringing her hands up to fight. "Who's there?" she demanded before focusing on a white-haired girl in front of her. "Who are you?"

"Calm down," the girl put her hands up. "I'm Bliss. I'm here to help you. Do you remember what happened?"

"No. What's going on?" She spat, bringing her fists up in front of her face and bracing her feet into the ground.

"Listen, your name is Mal and we're only playing a game here today. Let me explain-"

"You've got about ten seconds before I give you a blissful black eye!"

"Calm down. You agreed to this beforehand. The object of the game is to see if you can find your husband without any memories. You agreed to it before we took them away. The moment you find him, you'll remember everything. I promise." The girl's hands were still held aloft. Mal stared at her, trying to comprehend everything. She slowly let her hands down. Bliss carefully outstretched a hand, which Mal smacked away. They weren't alone. On her left side was a line of... cameras. And there were people behind the cameras. People behind black lines on the ground and behind the cameras behind the black lines. And on her right was a line of men, staring in concern. She looked away from them and found a ring on her left hand, which she blinked at and lifted to the light. "Who'd want to marry me?" she wondered. Someone let out a choked sound in the room, though she couldn't tell who.

"It's one of the people over here," Bliss directed her attention to Mal's left. Mal slowly got up to her feet. She looked down the line of people. Bliss kept talking, but Mal was ignoring her now. The first man was older, with grey hair mixed in among the brown and with big, somewhat meaty hands. He stood next to a man with blue hair whose outfit more resembled Mal's personal style. Black and brown leather with vibrant blue hair. Then a man with thick glasses and blonde hair and another with broad shoulders hidden under a white jacket with black and white hair. Another with long brown hair and red earrings. But it was the last one who immediately fascinated her. He also had blonde hair and wore a blue suit. He glanced over her with minor recognition, but there was something in the way he was hiding a smile behind his hand that immediately caught her attention. The shape of his shoulders... the arc of his brow... the sparkle in his eyes. It was as if she already knew everything about him when she didn't know anything at all. This, she decided, must be him. He was her person. She felt an itch across her skin and on the tips of her fingers as if they remembered everything about him and wanted to rediscover everything they already knew.

"They know you, so you can ask them questions if you want," Bliss finished.

"Starting when?" Mal demanded.

"Starting now," Bliss pointed to a clock, which began ticking on her command.

"Well, you can stop the timer," Mal scoffed and began approaching the men. "I know him. I know the way he is and what he does and I know him. I know the way he exists. This is him." She waved the others aside and stepped up beside the man in the suit. "You can stop the timer."

She blinked, and suddenly everything came back. "Oh!" she exclaimed, spinning to look up at him. "I did it!"

"In three seconds?" Jay sputtered incredulously.

"I give up!" Hades moaned into his hands. "You know, Mallie, I was looking forward to teasing you for the next few hundred years with this. Why'd you have to ruin it?"

"You did it!" Ben laughed, blushing hard. "I feel like a massive failure now."

"You should," Adam laughed. "You guessed her best friend and she didn't even think twice."

"I do love you," Mal mumbled, pressing her fingertips to her head. "I can't believe... is it... I did it." She released her skull and found her way into his side, burying her face away from the world in his chest. "Oh my goodness."

"You've been married for five years," Hades declared. "Shouldn't you know by now whether you love him or not?"

"Hey," Ben laughed into her hair. "It's gonna be okay. All over now." They'd won by a lot, too.

"I know," Mal mumbled in a small tone. "I know. Just don't let go."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. Just let me hold you."

"We've got to finish the interview."

"_Ben_."

"Okay, okay," Ben laughed. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too." And finally, she could be sure of what that meant.

* * *

**There's a Descendants Fanfic Poll up on my profile page. Please go cast a vote so I know what I should work on next.**


	37. The Test of Your Trial

**I do not own Disney Descendants. Requested my marvelatmymajesty on AO3.**

* * *

**The Test of Your Trial**

* * *

Mal's first official act as queen was to deliver Carlos's court summons to him.

Carlos blinked at the envelope, studied the addresses written on the front, and then looked back up at her. "What's this?" he asked.

Mal chewed on her lip. "It's about your mother," she said. "She's been arrested and charged."

Carlos blinked and his mouth fell open. Ben and Mal, in removing the barrier to the Isle, had acknowledged that many wrongdoings had occurred on the Isle that would need to be sorted out, but a majority of the villains were going without charges. Gaston had been charged for assault and rape, of course, and Jafar had had to pay a fine for making his son an accomplice to robbery and crime. Evie's mother would served community service for a few events that had happened while she was growing up and Mal's mom… well, they'd just kinda let Maleficent stay a lizard. Hades had been completely pardoned for aiding Auradon. In most cases, the time they had served on the Isle negated the need for any jail time and Auradon was taking into account the fact that they hadn't exactly served the villains and their children well and had inadvertently created a dystopic society. It hadn't honestly occurred to Carlos that his mother would be called to a court as Auradon went through the hundreds of cases.

"What for?" Carlos asked. "Did she do something wrong?"

Mal's eyes flicked down to the table. She'd asked Carlos to meet her in the Auradon Accelerated café where he was attending school. She'd hoped that would make the delivery easier. "Child abuse," she breathed.

Carlos's eyes grew even wider. "She's not being acquitted?" he asked.

Mal shook her head. "Ben wants her to see a trial. He didn't even finish reading the list of charges. He set it down after the first two and said she was going to stand."

"What were they?" Carlos demanded.

"Mal drummed her fingers on the tabletop. Her lip was starting to go numb underneath her teeth. "They conducted an investigation of the house," she began. "Found your old room and a few of her… toys. Also lists of chores and stuff like that. They tested a lot of the things in your room and found old blood and stuff like that. And, uh, I don't know if you knew this, but the backyard area where she had you put the fire ashes…" Mal trailed off, still biting her lip as she examined Carlos.

"Yes?" Carlos asked.

"Bodies. Of children. They don't know if they're hers or not." Mal ran a hand through her hair with an exhale. "I'm sorry, Carlos."

"Bodies?" Carlos repeated with a choke. "No, no, they can't be hers. Someone else must have put them there. I would have known."

"The heat from the ashes preserved some of them pretty well," Mal whispered. "I think Ben said that they have four bodies undergoing autopsies now. We'll know by the time the court date rolls around." She swallowed hard. "Sorry I don't have much more information about it. Ben has taken on the case personally. He just asked if I would deliver this to you because… he thought it would come off easier."

Carlos exhaled and set the envelope down. "When is it?" he asked.

"Fourth of December," Mal replied. "In three weeks."

"Why so long?" Carlos asked.

"Because the investigation is still ongoing and because they wanted to give you some time to decide and to, well, prepare to speak. If that's what you want." Mal folded her arms across her chest and closed her eyes. "Ben's hand-picked the judge and the jury and set aside seats for everyone. It's going to be public. He wants to know if you'll speak against - or for her, if you want - by the first."

"Sounds like he's going to town," Carlos sighed, sinking back into his chair.

Mal nodded. "He hasn't taken up a personal case since Gaston's came up, and that one only lasted a week."

"He letting you help?" Carlos asked.

Mal shook her head. "Not this time," she whispered. "Bias. But I'm still handling all the other cases from the Isle."

Carlos nodded. "Is there… anything else?" he asked.

"Umm," Mal closed her eyes to think. "One more small thing, I guess. Ben asked if, even if you don't want to speak, if you'd be willing to go in for a physical. The palace would cover any expenses."

Carlos hesitated, then nodded again. "I'll think about it," he whispered.

Mal got to her feet and slid a few bills onto the table to cover for the comfort food they'd ordered while sitting. "From Ben," she whispered.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Duh," he snorted.

Mal gave him a little smile and then walked past him and out of the café, pulling a hood up over her hair as she left. Carlos heard the clicks of phone cameras as she left. It was still a little strange to think that Mal was grown up now, a wife and a queen, and no longer the vicious and delusional teen they'd all known.

He wasn't the teen he once was either.

Carlos split the envelope open and began reading it. The official seal of Auradon was in the top right corner. The letter began "Mr. Carlos De Vil, you are hereby requested to join the prosecution of…"

He set the letter back down.

A slip of square paper was left in the envelope. He pulled it out and immediately recognized the over-the-top, fancy handwriting. "Carlos," Ben had written. "I know this is hard for you, but I want to lay what happened on the Isle to rest. You deserve justice, as do the other children with cases like yours who will follow. Please consider it."

Other children… Carlos set the leaflet down and exhaled. Of course Ben would take that route. Thinking of the big picture… advocating for all. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips to the bridge of his nose.

What was he going to do?

After twenty-two years on the Isle of the Lost, Cruella could barely fit into society anymore. Carlos had figured that at some point, she'd run into trouble with the law again. But he hadn't realized it'd be for anything involving him. He'd moved forward with his life – he'd left the Isle behind him. Everything that had once happened… that had been a different him. A different time.

And here it all was again.

* * *

"I'm here to see Cruella De Vil," he mumbled as he produced his official ID and swallowed.

The guards examined the card and then gestured him forward through the metal detectors. It took a while to take off all his gloves and unload his phone and keys and watch and everything else, but then he was through and able to proceed. They summoned a guard to lead him through the holding cells.

The people behind the bars were all Auradonian. There weren't many of them – Auradon had never been a very crime-ridden place. Most had sunken eyes and scraggly hair and yellowing skin. Even indigenous people with colored skin like Uma had yellow tones to their cheeks. Clear signs of drug use and health problems and general lack of sleep. Things Ben and Mal dealt with normally and would deal with once the Isle Cases were gone.

He was shown straight to his mother's cell. Beside the door and behind enchanted glass was a small table with a desk and a place to speak through the glass. A chair was pulled up for him to sit down and he did as his mother glanced forlornly past the door and towards him. She got up and came to sit in front of him. His hands felt clammy and chilled.

"You're pretty thin," he said in lieu of a greeting as the guards walked away.

Cruella looked at her hands. They were bone-thin, with sagging skin and with dark marks stretching across her skin. The bags under her eyes could probably carry a marble or something. "Yes," she sighed. "Age. Happens to everyone."

"Are they taking care of you?" Carlos asked.

Cruella snorted. "Does Auradon ever take care of prisoners?" she asked.

"Not under Adam's rule," Carlos murmured. "But I'm told Ben changed tons of things. I wouldn't know what it's like to be a prisoner, but…"

"No, you wouldn't," Cruella agreed.

It was odd to be conversing with her like this. They'd never been able to carry a conversation before the barrier had come down. He'd introduced her to Jane in a series of bumbling descriptions and murmured names. Then they hadn't seen each other and he'd heard through the grapevine that she was being placed in Auradon as Ben tried to evacuate the Isle in the build-up to the royal wedding and his and Mal's honeymoon. But he'd been busy with school and then with applying for college courses, so he'd never looked into the rumors.

"What's been happening?" he asked.

Cruella shrugged. "They went through the house," she said. "And then came and said I was under arrest. What else is there?"

"Mal said that there were bodies in the backyard?" Carlos asked. Cruella blinked slowly. "You know about them, then?"

Cruella leaned back and drummed her nails against the desk on her side. Carlos closed his eyes. "Were they… did you know them? Or were they someone else's?"

"Will you be testifying?" Cruella asked, avoiding the question with carelessness as she discovered a chip in her nails and began scratching and frowning at it. "Give me a file," she demanded and Carlos pulled one out with mechanical compliance.

"Do you want me to?" Carlos asked.

Cruella snorted. "The king has it out for me," she said. "I'm locked up either way. I'm sure he'd like to have you testify, though. Make you out to be an example. One of the 'Core Four' fighting against the abominable childhood he had." She blew a bit of her hair out of her face. "I'll need you to bring me things on court day. Hairspray, hair dye, a few other things. I'll make a list."

Carlos stared at her blankly. He didn't know what he'd expected. An apology? A plea? She seemed almost indifferent – both to him and to her situation. As if she had won through loosing in the worst way possible.

He scooted forward. "Doesn't it bother you?" he whispered. "You'll never… you'll never have your things again. The lampshades and the furs and everything. Aren't you even a little sad."

Cruella rolled her eyes. She did. Behind the glass where he could see them as if he couldn't have said anything more ridiculous. "Oh pup, don't be ridiculous," she chided and a chill ran down his spine. "You're not asking whether I'll miss my babies. You're asking whether I miss you, and the answer is still no."

Carlos got up. He pushed his chair back where it had come from and left without a goodbye. Cruella was not fazed by his departure. She wasn't fazed by anything anymore, it seemed.

* * *

Ben called on the morning of the trial. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

"I am," Carlos responded, standing in his bathroom alone with his shirt off, looking at the old scars on his arms.

"Are you still okay to testify?"

"I think so."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Carlos traced a long, old, ugly wound the stretched across his shoulder in the shape of a jaw. "I don't think so," he whispered.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. It was Ben waiting for him to continue. It was an emotional ploy he did without even realizing it – stay quiet long enough for the other person to get uncomfortable and start talking. Carlos didn't feel like falling for it today. He stayed quiet until he heard Ben take a long and ragged breath on the other end of the phone.

"Hush," he heard his friend murmur from a distance. It sounded like Ben had removed the microphone from under his mouth, but Carlos could still hear what he was saying. "Don't do that," he gasped. "I'm on the phone."

"Is that Carlos?" Mal asked, sounding out of breath.

"Is that Mal?" Carlos asked. "You guys aren't starting anything while you're on the phone with me, right?"

"No!" Ben squeaked and a smile spread across Carlos's mouth in spite of the day. "No, no, we're not starting anything. Don't worry."

"Speak for yourself," Mal mumbled as she got further and further from the mic.

"But you are good?" Ben asked. Carlos heard him kiss someone – probably Mal. "You'll be okay?"

"Yes," Carlos repeated. "I'll be okay."

"Okay," Ben said. "Keep me posted."

"I will."

"I'll see you soon."

"Bye Ben."

The phone line died, but not before he was treated to another one of Ben's groans as Mal presumably began doing something wicked with him. Hopefully they managed to make it to court in time.

He stared up at himself in the mirror. A thousand disjointed images flashed before his eyes. What was he going to say? She would be right there – how could he prosecute against her?

But then again, how couldn't he?

* * *

She was led in without chains. Nothing holding her except for two guards who led her to the defendant's table and helped her sit down. Carlos sat beside Ben and the lawyer the crown had hired to prosecute Cruella and couldn't keep his eyes off his mother as she took her seat.

The room was circular with Ben's hand-picked judge sitting on a raised dias. Cruella's defendants were sat on the left side of the room in front of a half wall behind which the public had been invited to fill the area. On the right side was the prosecution, with Ben's lawyer on the end, then Ben, Carlos, and the physician who had examined Carlos. Ben was currently leaning back into his chair. Mal, Evie, Jay, Jane and Belle were all sitting in the first row behind the prosecution and Mal was leaning forward to run her fingers through Ben's hair and lean her cheek against his from time to time. They were still newlyweds by two months, so no one really expected less, but it meant Ben was distracted and not talking to him about what was about to transpire.

The room filled slowly. It took forever. Carlos felt like he might be sick as his classmates and teachers walked in to see what would happen. The jury, which was even farther to the left in its own little alcove, filled with dozens of different people from all sorts of jobs and statuses.

The judge calls for attention. Ben himself gets up to announce the prosecution and read through the summary of what they're about to debate. Then he sits down and the lawyer stands up to read the evidence to the jury. There are long, long lists of things and stories that they've collected from people. One story is about 'an unnamed witness who built a place for Carlos De Vil to stay when his mother threw him out' that he knows is Jay. Those stories are all substantial, though. Almost every child on the Isle has been thrown out at some point. Being beaten is somewhat common. No one can afford to feed their children, so neglect – voluntary or involuntary – is hard to pin.

It's the examination of the house that Carlos is curious about.

The Lawyer finally begins explaining what the police and detectives found when they went through Cruella's Isle hideaway. They talk about elaborate places and expensive furs before they begin talking about his bedroom. Carlos pictures it as they speak. The spare coat closet with the furs he couldn't touch and the pile of rags lying underneath the busted window where he slept. They probably found all his old, twisted wires and batteries from when he'd try to make things work. The lawyer talks about blood on the traps that were stored there and how it tested positive for human blood. He talks about the pieces of flesh and the bandage supplies hidden under his cot of rags. Then, he moves on to the most critical piece of evidence.

"The search also uncovered the bodies of six children in the backyard," The lawyer announces and people stir. Some of them have fallen asleep – Carlos doesn't blame them – but they all perk up at the words "bodies in the backyard". "All under the age of four," the prosecutor continues. "The youngest being not even a few days old. All died of different causes. The oldest body, that of a two-year-old girl, was placed about thirty-months after the Isle was instated. She was killed to a bludgeon to the brain. A second four-month-old girl was strangled and buried under hot ash about a year later and a six-year-old boy with shattered limbs was discovered not far from her grave. We believe the boy must have died from the traumatic injury months before Carlos De Vil was born. One young toddler with damaged lungs was also recovered, her body having been placed sometime after the four-month old's, and a stillborn baby was recovered from the corner of the yard. The last was that of a three-week-old baby girl whose neck was snapped back."

"What are the identities of the children?" the judge asked.

"All were children of Cruella De Vil," the prosecutor said. "We believe she killed her own children, either through accident or malicious intent, over the years."

There was a stir throughout the room. Carlos turned to stare at Ben. "You didn't tell me that," he gasped.

Ben shook his head. "Didn't want to," he said with guilt in his tone. Mal was leaning forward with one hand on the wall and Ben was leaning against her hand for comfort. He was holding her other hand over his shoulder. Carlos didn't understand – they acted like they were in pain all the time.

There was more evidence – more descriptions regarding the gruesome way the six children – Carlos's older brother and sisters – died, but Carlos tuned it out in favor of shock and focusing on what was about to happen.

He was finally called to the stand.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" a man asks, holding a book of law for Carlos to swear on.

"I do," Carlos nodded.

Ben's lawyer and Ben have a quick discussion/escalating argument/fight and then the lawyer sits down and Ben gives Mal one last squeeze before getting up. Ben has a degree in law that he received alongside his graduation diploma and is, as such, able to question a witness without a major problem. Also, he's the king who brought down the barrier to the Isle of the Lost and married the daughter of Maleficent, who had dragon-shapeshifting powers. At this point, he can do whatever he wants. All at nineteen. What a winner.

"Carlos," Ben began, clapping his hands together in the same way he does whenever he wants everyone's attentions. "Will you tell us about your mother?"

It was a very general question for a very specific reason. Ben wanted to know the scope of what Carlos was willing to share and then target the most important parts.

"She and I were never quite close," Carlos started. "Growing up, I was there to do most of the chores. Like most other Isle kids, I was beat and hit and sometimes left outside."

"Did you feel that Cruella cared for you?" Ben asked softly. Carlos felt his throat swelling up. Trust Ben to ask these hard-hitting questions.

"No," he said. "She didn't. She told me so."

Ben exhales and steps forward to be closer to Carlos. "Carlos, was there every any other people living in the house with you and your mother?"

"No."

"And you were unaware of the bodies in the backyard?"

"I first learned about them when Mal invited me to be part of this prosecution."

"Taking those children into consideration, did your mother ever threaten you?"

Carlos's hands shook even though he was doing nothing with them. "A few times," he agreed and his voice cracked. "Almost every day, actually. Most of the time with small things, though. She told me I'd get locked out if I didn't finish chores or that she'd b-hit me. Or that I would go hungry. Stuff like that. Normal stuff." He flinched away from his own words as people in the audience exchanged looks. It is not always that he remembers it is not normal to abuse children in Auradon.

Ben tilted his head. "Did she ever threaten to kill you?" he asked.

Carlos swallowed hard. The memories are flashing in front of his eyes and cold sweat is dripping down his forehead. "Yes," he agreed.

"Tell me a time," Ben requested. Carlos closes his eyes.

"I…" he stammered off and then cleared his throat. "I came back late with Mal, Evie, and Jay. Someone had broken into the house while I was gone and had stolen a bunch of things. She was furious. She called me a thief and demanded I make restitution for not protecting the house. She said I had a week to make it all up or she would… well, she would kill me."

Ben knew Carlos. They were good friends. Still, he glanced back at Mal and Jay and Evie to make sure it's okay to keep asking before he said: "Is there anything else you want to tell me about that time? Specifics… how old you were?"

"I was thirteen," Carlos nodded. "I turned thirteen the next week. And… she specifically said she would use my stomach to hang me up in the streets."

The defense attorney pinched the bridge of his nose.

Ben nodded and stopped wringing his hands. "Carlos, were you ever hurt by your mother?"

The question made him freeze up. How could he possibly tell one? So many different instances came to mind. "Yes," was all he could think to say. "But we all were."

"Strike that from the record," Ben requested, addressing the judge. "It's irrelevant to the case and generalization."

"So stricken," the judge agreed.

"Carlos," Ben called, walking a little closer. "You know I want the best for you. And for all of the Isle kids, correct?"

"Objection!" The defense attorney raised his hand. "You are leading the witness."

The judge nodded and gave Ben a firm look. Ben nodded, took a deep breath, and then focused on Carlos. "Bearing in mind the others who will come after you and how you may feel when this is all over, is there anything in particular you wish to tell the jury?"

Carlos glanced at the jury. He glanced at his mother. He focused on Ben. Honest, hard-working Ben who was going to be elbow-deep in child abuse cases from the Isle of the Lost for the next five years, if he was lucky. He swallowed and ran a thumb over his index finger.

"There are a lot of things," he mumbled. "Things I pushed out and grew up through. Most of the time, they just come back in pieces." He reached up and squeezed his own shoulder before sliding the neckline of the red and black t-shirt he was wearing down. The scar in the shape of a bite was revealed and he watched several jury members take deep breaths.

"There was a cat," he recalled. "One that accidentally came over with the ships. A cat that was black with poufy fur and one dead eye. She locked it in a room and left it there for two days until it was feral with hunger. Then she threw me in. It got my eye… I couldn't see but I somehow managed to smash it into the wall. It bit me here and I obviously still have the marks."

He reached down and lifted his leg up onto his thigh to trace his calf. "They've already talked about my room… it was a spare closet where she hung her old furs and left all these old bear traps… things you step on and they take off your leg. When I was seven, I triggered one, but it didn't go off all the way. It mangled up my leg and I couldn't walk. Jay happened to walk past my window, heard me calling for help, and snuck in to sneak me out. I couldn't walk for almost four months and I had a limp until I turned twelve. She used to follow me around the house, screaming because I couldn't walk straight and I couldn't move as fast."

Carlos combed his fingers through his head and found a bald spot. "She burned a 'C' into my head," he announced and pulled his hair aside to show them. "She found a curved piece of metal and held it into the fire for a few hours." He let his locks fall back into place. "I just… never understood it. I felt like it was normal punishments, even if my friends never went through the same stuff. And I understood that I was in danger, but she always made it feel as if it was my fault."

"How would you describe your situation?" Ben asked.

"I was trapped," Carlos replied. "Trapped until you took me away. I was living a life where she would never be proud of me and I would always be trying to make her proud of me."

"Can you expand on that, please?" Ben asked. "Specifically, why do you believe she couldn't be proud of you?"

"Because she hated me," Carlos said and a weight lifted off his chest. The words began to come faster, as if he'd finally unlocked them. "She told me every day that she hated my guts and I knew it. It was just a truth… we grow up knowing that the grass is green and that food fills you… I knew that my mother hated me and I was only around to keep the house. I knew that one day, I would die, and it would probably be by her hand, and I was never sure if I wanted it or not because I thought it might be easier to be dead."

Tears burned his eyes, but he pressed onwards as they came rolling down his cheeks. "She tried to murder me once, when she was drunk. In one hand she had a busted bottle of champagne… in the other a fire poker. She threw a heavy fur on me and tried to beat me through it. I think she was drunk. I passed out in my own blood. And when I woke up, I cried because I was awake and alive and I knew I had to clean up my own mess of vomit and blood before she saw it or she would do it all over again. I cried because I didn't want to do the cycle again. I wanted to stay asleep so she couldn't hurt me."

Carlos had never known silence to be as quiet as if was in the courtroom as Ben pulled a box of tissues off the stand and handed them to Carlos. "No further questions," he murmured, only loud enough for the judge and Carlos to hear, before he went to go sit down in his seat. Mal's hand immediately tangled into his hair and she slid up to kiss the skin at the nape of his neck. Carlos looked down the line at his friends. Poor Jane was crying just as bad as he was.

The judge directed her attention to Ben's attorney. "Any further questions?" she asked. He shook his head. "The defense may begin their cross-examination."

Surprisingly, the defense team didn't try too hard with him. They fired off a few things about where and when things had happened, but when they couldn't trip him on the first few items they simply gave up. He was allowed to sit down and they began to fire statistical arguments at the jury. "This woman has served twenty-two years in prison and in an area that was not secured by Auradon government. How can we hold her to standards in a place where the law did not exist?" But it was clear that even Cruella's defense thought she should be locked away. Hardly anyone listened to their lawful reasoning.

The jury left to make their decision and Cruella turned around to ask one of the people behind her for a comb. Carlos watched her fluff up her hair from a distance. He put his head down on the table until the jury walked back in. The entire decision had taken less than ten minutes.

Carlos listened to her be pronounced guilty and sentenced to life. Cruella seemed unfazed. She didn't even glance his way. He didn't understand. He had just helped put her away. Could she at least spare him that?

The court adjourned and people began walking away. Guards came to cuff her and put her behind bars. Without even realizing what was happening, Carlos was jumping over the table and running to break their path. "Mom," he snapped, the word foreign on his tongue. "Look at me."

Cruella rolled her eyes. "Why?" she asked.

"Don't you understand?" Carlos demanded. "You're going to prison. For life. And I put you there. Don't you want to glare? Or be upset?"

Cruella's cold, uncaring eyes skimmed over him. "What's the point?" she asked. "I don't owe you another thought and don't think I give things away for free."

And they walked by him.

She'd looked at him. He could feel those cold eyes like hands dragging him down.

* * *

"What should I have done?" He asked Ben as they all crowded into the dark end of a restaurant. "I mean… she was right there."

"I think you did wonderfully," Ben said, dropping an arm around his bride. Her hair was covered so as not to draw paparazzi attention. "You don't owe her anything."

"I feel like I do," Carlos snorted with a disbelieving laugh. "You know… she asked me for a nail file when I went to visit her and I just… did it. Because that's my job. It's what I'm supposed to do."

"I do that," Evie mumbled down the table. "My mom called and said she was out of mascara and I was down to the car before I realized that I have a life now and I don't need to go help her all the time." She sighed and sipped the smoothie she'd ordered. "I mean, I still went to help her, but it was just an automatic response. I need to work on it."

"I think it's just something you do for people," Jane whispered. "You and Evie."

"What about us?" Mal raised an eyebrow.

"Nah," Ben began to laugh. "If someone asks you to do something, you're all like: 'why', 'what are you gonna give me?'"

"Whatever, Ben." Mal scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey Mal," Jay smirked. "Can I see your phone? Need to look something up."

Mal sneered. "Use your own," she snapped, then blinked and began to laugh when she realized Evie and Carlos had both reached for their phones to offer up sacrifice to Jay. The two teens blushed and put their phones back.

"I guess that's right," Carlos agreed, laughing a little. "It just felt different in the moment because I just… reacted. And it was such a small thing, but I've been so worried about testifying. Like… if she said not to talk about something, would I have?"

"Did she say not to talk about anything?" Mal asked.

"No," Carlos shook his head. "She said she'd get me a list of things she wanted me to bring to court, but it never arrived. She didn't even talk to me at all during court… barely even looked at me on the way out."

Mal shook her head, "What a-"

"Don't swear," Ben cut her off. "You need to get into the habit, remember? Our publicist will go insane if you keep cussing during interviews."

"Whatever," Mal scoffed. "Just think of it this way, Carlos. Now she's in a place where they'll take care of her and you're not required to go see her or do anything. If you do go, she can't touch you and you can't bring things into her anyways. This is just your way of gaining more control of your relationship with her."

Carlos stayed silent for several seconds, swirling his straw in his soda pop. Everyone waited patiently for his response. "I like that," he said at last. "I guess… I just have a little bit more control over how much control she has of me."

"And that," Ben picked up his drink and bumped it against Mal's head with a sly grin on his face, "is something worthy of a toast. To Carlos!"

Everyone else picked up their glasses as well. "To Carlos!" Was echoed a bit too loudly around the restaurant. Patrons glanced over, and Carlos found himself blushing. Ben swung back the entirety of his drink in one go and dropped the glass with a thud before he and Jay joined up to squish Mal between them as hard as they both could. She squealed and, with one arm each (the remnants of her strength from the Isle) pushed them aside. Ben grabbed her arm and Jay began to help wrestle her down to tickle her.

"By the way," Ben announced. "I'm paying tonight."

"Way to flash your money at everyone, Ben," Evie rolled her eyes.

Carlos laughed along with everyone as Mal squealed and tried to wrestle away from Ben and Jay's joint attacks. Everything that had happened suddenly seemed very far away.


	38. Makeup Fic

**This one is a story idea I've had for a while. It's a bit odd, and definitely not for everyone, but I enjoyed making it. I think there's probably lots of people who'd relate. **

**I do not own Disney Descendants.**

* * *

In hindsight, the signs had been there for a long, long time. It had been small glances and hesitations and even a few comments by other people that dropped hints as to what exactly Ben dealt with.

Mal had been guilty, along with everyone else, of assuming Ben was perfect and had no issues aside from being a little gullible, sometimes innocent, and very lenient. Being his girlfriend had opened her eyes a little to a few problems that she hadn't recognized. Her sharp Isle eyes were even able to spot a few things that his parents and other close friends didn't notice. He sometimes did homework during meetings and gatherings so he would be able to spend time with family and friends later(reading between the lines, he didn't want to seem too busy for loved ones). If he heard someone else's weight or a different unfavorable characteristic mentioned, he'd quit eating and become incredibly self-conscious(He was insecure, but usually convinced people wouldn't take notice). If people addressed his dad before him, he'd stay silent as if he were still a child instead of the king(he still struggled to take up his role).

Mal noticed all these things and a few more. It made her uneasy.

Small protective measures were put into place. She'd "accidentally" finish things if they got "mixed up beside hers." Pass him food and claim she'd gotten too much and couldn't let it go to waste. Speaking up to him when others were around. Small things to remind him it was okay.

There were some things she couldn't fix, though.

She'd noticed that when she walked by, Ben's eyes would cling. He'd mark up her body with his eyes and give her this one look – with half-closed eyes, flushed cheeks, and a mystical smile – that made her feel like she was burning away. How could she not have noticed? He was her boyfriend and she appreciated his ogling looks. But then she'd notice him focusing on Evie's face as she walked past, lost in a thoughtful demeanor, and then her stomach would twist when he'd do a double-take at Jane to admire her eyes. Her jealousy mounted to see him glancing at other girls who weren't even friends, looking like he was taking notes or something. She hadn't realized what he was looking for until he'd been hovering in her room, waiting for her to grab her bag and phone, and she watched his eyes rake across Evie's desk, scattered with sparse makeup products and used makeup wipes.

Oh. That made sense. Ben, who was a little insecure and uneasy about himself and always worried about impeding on other people also found it fascinating that people could decorate themselves to look prettier.

A week before graduation, Mal was invited to a sleepover. She'd originally declined until she'd heard Ben would be coming. Why? "Oh, we used to invite Ben to all of our sleepovers," Jane explained on the way there. "He's super good at hair and makeup. Good sport, too."

"Makeup?" Mal wrinkled her nose. She'd taken everything Evie had put on her off after school.

"You don't need to get any if you don't want to," Jane chuckled, opening the door and revealing everyone behind it. And Mal didn't want any, so she simply sat behind her boyfriend, who was oddly silent in her presence, and watched his hands work on the other girls. He mixed powders and creams for each of them on the back of his hand and seemed to have an innate knowledge of what each of the different brushes and sponges did. Even Evie was impressed with his work. She examined his quiet pride as the girls took selfies with his artistry and then leaned his head against hers in an effort to let him know she thought his talents were cool. The girls looked ready to attend the same parties that Mal struggled through. Ben didn't lean on her for long, though. He got up and walked over to the sink before scrubbing away all traces of what he'd done from his skin with a loofah and soap until all that remained of the shimmery powders were rubbed red marks.

Ben struggled with insecurity. He also struggled with liking something not really meant for his gender. He struggled with not being brave enough to propose something that might make people think differently about him. And there wasn't much she could do to fix that.

* * *

Mal moved into Ben's castle after graduation. Fine. She was given a room about a football field's length from Ben's and the servants monitored her curfew for her. Again, fine. But then three months later, Ben proposed, and in the onslaught leading up to the wedding, they started moving things into the same suite together. They were both moving a lot of heavy boxes from their rooms to each other's and at some point, Ben got lost putting things in the bathroom while Mal was hanging up t-shirts and ripped jeans and organizing her combat boots. She finally finished, stumbled into the bathroom to ask if she could start bringing his things over, and her jaw dropped when she saw the mess across the countertop.

"Woah!" She exclaimed and he paused where he was arranging toothbrushes and floss in their top drawer. She brushed her fingertips across the litter of products on their counter and snorted. There were hairsprays and gels and pomace… a few lotions, moisturizers, concealers, foundation, and others. "What's all this?"

Ben ducked his head and muttered an apology. His face was red. Immediately, Mal regretted laughing. "I'm going to get rid of most of it," he told her. "I'm just bad at throwing things out."

They both knew it was a lie. He was meticulous in his organizing.

"Well, it's fine," Mal chuckled, picking up a bottle of sleek'n'shine. "I don't care either way. I don't even know what half of this stuff is, so it's not like I'll use it."

Ben gave a noncommittal shrug. "I know it's a lot," he muttered. "Most of this stuff is probably most of the way gone anyways." He picked up a can of aerosol hairspray and shook it. His face turned even pinker when the sound it made indicated it was, in fact, pretty full.

"Ben?" Mal took his chin and turned him to face her. "I don't mind. Really. I just didn't know all this stuff existed. You can keep it all if you like. We can even get a rack for you to hang on the door."

Ben snorted, shifted uncomfortably, and put the bottle back down. "Did you finish bringing all your stuff in?" he asked.

"No, just my clothes," Mal replied, deciding to accept his subject change. "I've still got to go through all those gowns. Are you going to finish up in here?"

Ben nodded, and that was the end of it.

* * *

The night before the wedding, Ben and Evie fell into a deep discussion about Mal. And not just any discussion.

"Well, the thing is, every color you put on her has to be muted by purple, otherwise it'll clash with her hair," Evie explained, emphasizing with her hands.

"I see that," Ben agreed. "Have you tried doing neutral colors only on her? Browns, golds, greys, that sort of thing?"

"I've done silver and black," Evie shrugged, "But I don't have very many browns. I sent her all my purples when she moved out. Maybe I'll have to send her some browns too."

"Did you send any blues?" Ben asked. At this point, he reached out for Mal, who was sitting on the ottoman as he was on the couch and took her face to show Evie as he spoke. "I want to try and do some blue atop her lid and purple underneath. What do you think?"

"That would look nice," Evie agreed. "It's a good thing you know what you're doing. You'll have to keep her looking presentable from day to day."

"Ouch." Mal stuck out her tongue.

"Oh, hush," Evie rolled her eyes. "We both know that without me, and now him, you'd never even brush your hair."

"You can do makeup?" A voice asked behind the couch. Ben and Evie both looked up. It was Chad. He looked very confused.

There was a pause and a hand landed on Ben's shoulder. Everyone looked up to see Hades, who had one eyebrow raised. "The kid's on TV every week," he snorted. "He's gotta know how to cover up at least a little." He flicked Ben's ear. Ben flinched.

"Yeah, he's really good," Evie confirmed. "I was amazed the first time he did mine."

"What I don't understand is why I have to be your guinea pig," Mal complained. "If you like it so much, put it on yourself. Leave me out of this."

"Well, Ben can't do that," Chad laughed. "He's a guy!"

A few people who had started listening to their conversation laughed along with Chad. But, Mal noticed the islanders all exchanged looks. Jay and Carlos looked down at the ground with their shoulders slumping in confusion. Behind them, Audrey laughed along with Jane and several other members of their graduating class. Ben's hand fell from Mal's face. She reached to try and take his hand but he withdrew too fast, leaning back into the couch and nodding with everyone else as if that argument made sense. Mal looked up, baffled, at Hades. Some sort of cross-dimension understanding passed between them. Ben would stand up for other people. He'd never stand up for himself.

"I don't get it," Hades announced. His voice boomed off the walls and everyone stopped. Ben wrinkled his nose and looked up. Everyone else stared. No one seemed sure of how to respond.

"What's there to get?" Adam asked, dropping his glass onto a nearby table and stepping forward. Immediately, the mood of the room darkened. Mal exhaled. She appreciated Hades speaking up but wished Adam had stayed silent. Ben's dad still hadn't learned to get along with his son's in-laws.

"I don't get the joke," Hades deadpanned. "Explain it."

"It wasn't exactly a joke," Belle set a hand on Adam's chest. She, too, felt a fight coming. "It's just… a reaction to the obvious being stated."

"What obvious?" Hades asked, arching an eyebrow.

"That men don't wear makeup," Belle asked, blinking as if it _should_ be obvious.

Hades held up a hand in response. All his nails were painted slate grey. Everyone exchanged glances. No one seemed sure of what to say. Mal fought to hide a smirk as she watched Ben glance down at his own nails, then around at everyone else in the room. "Well…" Belle stammered.

"Yeah, I don't see the issue!" Carlos spat out, glancing with pursed lips at Jane, who suddenly looked embarrassed. Jay was nodding along to his words. "Evie does stuff on us all the time and sure, while we don't usually like having it on for too long, it doesn't make it wrong."

"Plenty of guys on the Isle wear makeup all the time," Jay agreed. "Not me, but lots of girls don't wear makeup and they're not destroying society. I don't get why he couldn't if he wanted to."

"Well," Adam snapped, "Ben is a respectable young man who-"

"Excuse you!" Hades snapped as both Carlos and Jay's faces also twisted into rage. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Well, see here-"

"Enough!" Ben called, holding up a hand. Everyone stopped. "What my parents mean is that in Auradon, it's not customary for men to wear makeup or have their nails done. Especially in higher circles. No one wants to change the way you or anyone from the Isle chooses to dress, however, because we know the atmosphere is different there."

Jay and Hades pursed their lips. Carlos looked at the ground in anger. But the conversation was over. Ben had ended it. And with a clap of his hands and the brief announcement of "Let's move on," the party continued. Those who had gathered dispersed. Adam was led away by Belle. Ben got to his feet and smiled at Mal as he passed her by. "Be right back," he whispered.

"Ben…" Mal got to her feet. "Where are you going?"

"Just out on the porch," He assured her. "Everything is okay. I'm just feeling a little warm."

"Can I come with?" she asked. He immediately offered her his arm. They disappeared from the party. Ben took her outside and they switched from linked elbows to an arms-around-shoulders hold. She looked up at the stars as they walked and sighed. "Why do you care what they think, Ben?"

Ben seemed shocked by the question. "I don't care," he disagreed. "What makes you think that?"

"The way you act when they disagree."

Ben gave her an incredulous look. "Like how? My parents objected to changing the Isle. They objected to you. They objected to opening the barrier. What makes you think I let anyone in there stomp around on me?"

"You're very good at standing up for other people," Mal agreed. "When are you going to stand up for yourself?"

She found his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it as Ben pondered his response. "I just… don't think I need anything." He laughed. "How could I, when so many other people are suffering? And everything else… it doesn't matter. I have you now, and you're the only thing I want." And he squeezed her hand to support his words.

Mal hummed. "You know… what Chad and your dad were saying… It doesn't matter. I'd still be proud to be with you even if you wanted to-"

"Mal," Ben cut her off. "I appreciate the support. But I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

It was the very first day of their honeymoon and Mal woke up with her arms tangled in around Ben's head with his arms encircling her, squeezing her tightly to him. She felt him shift and then his eyes opened. When he was awake enough for fine motor skills to be a possibility, he took her face in between his palms and kissed her. She sighed against his lips, closed her eyes to enjoy it, and didn't protest when Ben drew away for air. But then she heard him laugh and opened her eyes to see what had him giggling.

He cupped her cheeks and traced her eyes with his fingertips. Was he like her, astounded that she was finally his wife? Marveling at the fact someone like him could even exist?

He probably was, but he still shook his head with a wide, white smile and kissed her earlobe when he leaned over to whisper: "We never took off your makeup last night."

Mal blinked in surprise. Her face still had everything Evie coated on it for the wedding yesterday, then. Now with added sweat and smudging. She traced Ben's face with her nails and then laughed before descending into a state of mirth. She could see in his eyes how he meant the comment – a reminder to himself for future nights so he could continue to take care of her, but it was still hilarious to her. This was the first day of her married life. She was still sore from the corset and the heels and everything that happened yesterday. She was lying beside her husband on a beach in Motuni and she was a queen and Ben was scolding himself for not remembering to help her remove her makeup – something she was perfectly capable of doing herself.

Ben cupped her face tighter with bruising fingers and brought her face closer to kiss her again. "Gods, you're so beautiful," he murmured. Mal smiled. She'd never been insecure about her appearance, but it was easy to be confident in herself when Ben was gasping for breath at every glance.

Still, she teased him. "Oh?" She asked. "Because I still have all this gunk on my face?"

Ben's worshipping expression turned to horror. "No!" he gasped. "I didn't mean that at all, I swear-"

"I know," Mal cut him off. "Don't worry. I was just teasing." She kissed his cheek, then the tip of his nose, and finally fell back onto his mouth with a satisfied sigh. "You're so beautiful too," she mumbled and couldn't keep her smile from going wider at the shiver of satisfaction that went through him.

* * *

Ben loved the children in the courts. The children of the other royals and their old friends who had married and become parents. Chad had a daughter who was one of the most precious people in Auradon, as far as Ben was concerned, and it was her and her friends who Ben loved to hang out with when the real meetings let out.

Sometimes, the other ladies of the court gave Mal suggestive nods and said things like: "It's about time he had children of his own, isn't it?" when they watched him being pulled away by the groups of ecstatic toddlers. It wasn't easy to watch them wink and raise their eyebrows when they asked where he was and she had to bite out that he was entertaining the younger half of the courts. "Oh, any of his kids in the mix this time?" they asked and she painted on a smile to reply "I don't recall ever being pregnant."

But goodness, she loved walking out of meetings and finding him enraptured with the little kids. Face lit up, eyes bright as they sat around a children's table and proposed fake laws governing tea parties with stuffed bears overseeing their actions. They fit in breaks for fake cake about every thirty seconds. Mal wished that the real courts also got cake breaks.

Today, when she'd finally managed to tear herself away from the talons of the other court ladies, she found Ben exactly where she thought she would. He sat at the head of a nursery table in a child's chair, Dozens of little kids climbed around him, babbling in such a continuous stream that Mal couldn't understand a single one. She saw the pictorial notes of gold crayon coins and one with long, grey bars that must represent prison and thought that the 'courts' must have just let out. Now, Ben is leaning forward with rapt attention as Chad's daughter shows off a black box with a glittery lid to him and her friends.

"Look!" She exclaimed. "My dad got me nail polish and it smells like strawberries!"

The other kids lean in with interest. Ben glanced up and raised his eyebrows at her as she approached. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "It's my favorite Lady of the Court! We were conversing of your beauty and wisdom today during our session."

"Were you?" Mal laughed as a little boy tugged on Ben's pant leg.

"What does conversing mean?" he asked.

"We were talking," a girl supplied. "King Benjamin of the Table Courts decreed that he couldn't make a decision without consulting her graciousness."

"Which reminds me," Ben turned to Mal. "It has been proposed that the official colors of Auradon be altered to include pink and orange. May we have your input?"

Mal snorted. "I think you would look dashing in pink and orange," she told him. "But what about purple?"

"We can do purple and pink and orange and blue and gold?" Someone proposed.

"All in favor?" Ben asked, raising his right hand. Around the table, hands flew into the air. The only one who didn't was the young man who had been put in charge of recoloring the Beast Crest. He pouted with a broken pink crayon in hand.

"It doesn't go together!" he mourned.

"Queen Mal?" Chad's daughter called. "Can I paint your nails the new colors?"

Mal winced. The strawberry-scented polish made it more tempting, but only slightly so. "I'm sorry, but I don't like having my nails painted."

"Aww, please?" Chad's daughter put her lips together.

"Can we do your nails?" a boy asked Ben instead, poking his arm. A few of the older boys wrinkled their noses in silent protests. Even at their young age, they sent disdainful looks towards Mal, clearly thinking it should be her responsibility, as the woman of the household, to entertain the kids and let them doll her up. Not the king.

"Absolutely," Ben exclaimed. He put his hands down on the table as little hands began shakily unscrewing bottles. Ben glanced sideways at Mal to gauge her reaction before the kids began spreading his fingers. She moved to stand behind him and knit her fingers into his hair. Ben leaned into her touch as she tousled his hair and she smiled. Colors began to be spread on his fingertips, with the older kids helping to keep the polish mostly contained. Ben looked amused. Mal couldn't resist leaning forward to kiss his head. She couldn't wait to have his colorful hands on her body later.

"Can we do your hair?" One of the kids asked Ben, producing plastic hair extensions from a nearby dress-up chest.

"Umm," Ben glanced up at Mal, who immediately withdrew her hands and sat down in a child's seat beside him. Then, as hair chalk and barrettes are added into Ben's locks, she ran her fingertips up and down his back. He smiled and leaned back into her touch and dropped his head back so the little kids could reach it better. He looked comfortable and happy – even when his hairs are yanked and pulled. Mal loved this soft, blissful side of her husband. He goes this way sometimes – when they cuddled together or when he tuned out in meetings watching her. She loved it. She was addicted to his peace-filled looks and the soft, sweet parts of him.

"Oh, you poor man!" Someone exclaimed as they walked in. Ben and Mal both looked up to watch a woman – a representative from Camelot – clap a hand over her chest in mock shock. "What have they done to you?"

"Mommy, doesn't he look pretty?" A little girl asked, pointing to his cheek.

"Well, honey," her mother laughed. "Boys usually look better without it."

Mal leaned forward to look at Ben's face. Someone had procured a kid's makeup set without her noticing. Smudged and greasy colors were clouded on his eyelids. One of the kids had used a blue flavored lipgloss as blush, so his face had a fluorescent touch to it.

He glanced down a bit as she looked him over and then brought his eyes back up to meet hers. Mal nodded her approval. "You look beautiful," she told him. This, it seemed, was too much for Ben, and he turned away to hide his blush with his hands.

Mal glanced at the fruity-flavored lip glosses and zeroed in on a light pink one. "Is that strawberry?" she demanded.

"Yeah!" The owner held up her set with pride. "Do you want some?"

"Is he wearing any?" Mal asked, looking back at her adorned husband. "I think he might need some."

Ben uncovered his face and waved at a vague patch of skin. "I can taste some, so I think they must have put it on my mouth."

He only realized what she'd been intending to do when she put her fingers in his hair, messing up the other kid's work, and used his locks to drag him closer to her. The kids around them began to groan and complain and even Ben gave a little "ugh" as if to say "Hey, we're still in public with lots of little kids around." Still, she kissed him, drawing his lower lip in between her teeth and smirking when glittery, strawberry-flavored lip gloss coated her tongue.

"You ruined it! The owner of the lip gloss protested. "Now we have to redo it." She uncapped her bottle.

"Oh, no," The Camelot woman shook her head. "No, he doesn't need anymore. Be nice to the poor man."

"It's okay," Ben told her, turning away from Mal's second kiss. "I mean, they're kids. It doesn't matter."

Mal pinched her lips together. She heard the unspoken "It doesn't mean anything," loud and clear, and didn't think she'd ever heard such a lie from him before.

* * *

Through a rare case of happenstance, Ben's workday was cut short while Mal had an extra hour and half of work. She wasn't bitter – Ben more often had extended workdays due to him being the heir and her remaining the consort queen. When she snuck in after her last meeting, she was still in a good mood despite the extra work of the day.

She didn't announce herself as she put her briefcase by the door and then wandered to put her shoes in the closet. The room was dark… that's odd, Ben should have come home already. Then, she noticed the bathroom light on and a smile spread across her face. She put a hand on the doorframe and smiled to see Ben standing in front of the mirror, sleeves rolled up, focusing on something on his arm.

He didn't notice when she stepped in and when she wrapped her arms around him from behind, he almost jumped out of his skin. "Oh! You're home!" he exclaimed. "How was your day?"

"Good," she responded. As he turned to better hug her, she saw marks up and down his arm. Panic seized her and focused. They are only colorful splotches. Mal realizes that her foundation and concealer are set on the counter, open, and different similar shades have been mixed on Ben's arm.

"Oh," she said with relief as Ben tugged his arm away from her, face beet red, and held it to himself as if to protect against an attack. "Oh, it's just makeup, thank goodness!"

Ben blinked. "What did you think it was?" he asked.

"I thought you were cutting yourself," Mal sighed and then set her finger on a partially-visible patch on his arm. Ben watched her put a bit on her finger and then withdraw to dab it on his nose. "That's a good color for you," she said. She laughed as she turned to rinse the color off her fingertip. Ben followed her in rinsing everything off his arm and nose.

They put on a movie and exchange whispers about their day as the commercials run. Then, as the movie began, Ben leaned forward and whispered: "Was that all you wanted to say?"

It took Mal an embarrassingly long time to realize what he was talking about. Ben becomes more withdrawn the longer she thinks. He didn't expect it to be so commonplace to her that she'd forgotten all about it. She can see how her response stuns him.

"Was I supposed to say anything?"

* * *

"Remind me again why we do this?" Mal asked, taking a seat in front of the mirror with a sigh. Ben rolled his eyes as he picked his brush up and began brushing her hair back from her face. He pulled open the second drawer for a claw clip to secure it back and then began pulling out tons and tons of different types of makeup.

"We could just not," Ben shrugged, glancing at her with a smirk. "I could let you do your makeup and you could just not care about the news sources afterward. I mean, it'd be just like when we first started dating, before you got sick of everyone saying things about how-"

"I got it," Mal cut him off, grumbling while he ducked his head to hide his smirk. She gazed at all the different products with a grumble and didn't comment much further than a groan when he handed her a rag and a face scrub and directed her to wash her face off.

"What's that?" Mal snarled at a colorful bottle as Ben set it down. It looked like a kid's product and featured a dancing watermelon slice.

"Relax," Ben snorted. "It's a detangler. So, I spray it in your hair-" he did, one long spritz down a lock that Mal flinched away from, "-and then I take the brush and – viola!" He held up a freshly-detangled lock of hair. Mal perked up.

"Wait, so it makes it so you don't have to take five years detangling my hair?" She asked, picking up the bottle and sneering at the watermelon.

"Exactly," Ben agreed.

"Why didn't you tell me about this back when we first got married?" Mal demanded. "Or better yet, when we first started dating?"

"Because Evie told me it existed last week and I had to go through my acceptance period to realize such a wonderful product existed," Ben explained, taking the bottle from her so he could spray down her hair. "Also because I had to have Chip run down to town for it."

Mal sighed in relief as Ben brushed through her hair without any trouble and finished scrubbing her face with the rag. Ben plugged in a set of hot rollers, which Mal also sneered at before he began picking his way through the makeup. She held still as Ben drew contour lines across her face, around her nose, and underneath her eyes. She grumbled and shifted as he twisted her hair up in the rollers and flinched away briefly when he applied primer to her eyelids, but then melted into his palms when he cupped her cheek to blend a striking mix of black, green, and gold across her eyelids.

"You don't need three different reds," Mal deadpanned when Ben withdrew blush brushes to drag across her cheekbones. "They all look the same once they're on anyway."

"I don't get to do this on me, so just hush," Ben implored. "And they don't look the same. This one has blue undertones and this one has yellow."

"Blue?" Mal repeated. "They're all reds!"

"You're an artist – shouldn't you know the difference in colors?"

"My knowledge only applies to noble forms of art."

Ben flicked out the wings of Mal's eyeliner. When he was satisfied, he handed her a mascara tube and then turned to sort through lipsticks. Mal sighed and leaned closer to the mirror, pinching her lips into a frown as she unscrewed the tube.

"I hate this stuff," She snapped when she was done with the first eye.

"I know," Ben replied simply. "But hey, you'll be the talk of the tabloids and I get to play with makeup. Win-win."

Mal only grumbled and tossed the tube back into the mix. Ben snorted and turned around with a vivid pink in his hand. On the back of his arm, he'd tested a few different shades to find the one he was looking for. Mal snorted when she saw the streaks. Ben took her face with a soft touch and drew her in closer, almost with gaze alone. Mal's eyes landed on his lips as he dragged his thumb over her bottom lip to part the two and uncapped the lipstick with his other thumb.

"Hold still," he whispered. Mal blushed underneath her makeup at his tone. Ben dragged the tip of the stick around the perimeter of her mouth and then slowly filled it in, cradling her jaw all the while.

He kept hold of her face when finished until her cheeks flushed and she leaned forward into him. Then he withdrew with a laugh and started removing rollers from her hair. turned her back towards the mirror with a proud expression. "See?" He beamed. "You're going to blow everyone away tonight."

"All thanks to you," Mal hummed, closing her eyes and leaning back into him. Ben's smile only grew even brighter and more proud. "Ben, why don't you do this to yourself every once in a while? Let Auradon know that you like it and you think it's fun. It won't make you any less of a king to them."

Ben's smile faded and he shrugged. "I'm kinda content to just play with your appearance," he shrugged. "And all of this doesn't usually fit in well with suits."

"Wear a dress, then," Mal suggested, but at this, Ben's face twisted into one of clear disgust. He liked his suits. "Or not. Well, you could always do a bit of blue eyeliner and get away with it. That's what Evie does when the kids get her too busy."

Ben shrugged. "Maybe," he agreed. "I remember I used to paint my nails as a pre-teen, but I stopped once I got to high school. Audrey once told me that she didn't think nail polish belonged on guys."

"Audrey is a traditional princess," Mal kissed his cheek, leaving a faint imprint that Ben immediately wiped away before catching her face to correct her lip coat with his nail. "You're not a traditional king. Everyone already knows that."

"That is true," Ben shrugged in acquiescence. "Maybe I'll try it sometime. We could do something to you too."

"I could get some horns?" Mal offered with a smirk that was just… evil spreading across her face.

Ben burst into laughter and then kissed the top of her curly hair. "God, you look beautiful," he whispered.

Mal turned and pressed her forehead against his shirt. "Only with you here," she replied.

* * *

After the party, he tossed his jacket onto the back of his chair, kicked off his shoes, and laid back on the couch with his phone. Mal dropped her shoes by his and began stripping out of her dress before she even made it into the bathroom. Ben snorted and didn't protest the view.

When she came back, clad in one of his bathrobes and scrubbing mascara off her eyelashes, he was still lying on the couch and looking through his phone. She dropped onto him and nuzzled her head into his chest. Ben immediately dropped his phone to cuddle with her, but his focus didn't immediately turn to holding her, as she had hoped. Instead, he ran his fingertips up and down her back and smiled brightly.

Mal kissed his cheek. "What's got you so smug?" she asked.

"You," he hummed. "You made national news tonight."

"Of course I did," Mal rolled her eyes. "I was beside you."

Ben ran a hand through her hair. "Didn't have too much to do with me. Everyone said you looked beautiful, flawless."

"Ah," Mal nodded. "So it had everything to do with you."

Ben snorted. "Not even," he reprimanded, and finally, the evening was over.

* * *

"Stay still!" Evie snapped across the room.

"I'm try'na focus on-"

"Carlos!"

"Evie!"

"Dear God, Evie," Jay grumbled as he tapped feverishly on his phone screen. "He's busy. Let him be."

"Yeah!" Carlos groaned. "Use Mal! She's not in the middle of anything!"

"You keep that stuff away from me," Mal hissed. She glared at Evie's collection. Evie's new makeup set had come in and she was ecstatic to try it out. Jay had already been decorated and Mal had utterly refused.

Jay gave Mal an exasperated look. "Come on," he complained. "Aren't you used to it now?"

"Yeah!" Evie agreed. "You're the queen! You have to get dolled up all the time."

"Exactly," Mal rolled her eyes. "This is my off day. You're not ruining it."

"An off day for your face?" Evie repeated incredulously.

"Exactly," Mal agreed. "Ben already tried to change my mind."

"Of course Ben tried," Carlos rolled his eyes and dodged Evie's blush brush in an effort to stay focused on his computer screen. Mal looked and stared at Carlos, waiting for him to finish. "He's just like Evie!"

"Imagine if Ben and Evie had gotten married," Jay snorted. "They'd never have left the house."

Evie and Mal both simultaneously rolled their eyes and shook their heads. Carlos flinched away from Evie as she tried again to finish contouring his cheek.

The door opened. Mal glimpsed royal blue out of the corner of her eye and groaned before pulling the pillow she'd been lying against over her face. "No!" she complained. "It's my off-day! I'm not doing any work!"

"I was just coming to see if you wanted to-"

"Ben!" Evie shouted, withdrawing from Carlos, who breathed a little sigh of relief. "Perfect timing! Sit your butt down now!" She gestured firmly at a seat and Ben fell into it, looking a little concerned.

"What did I do?" Ben asked, glancing at Mal for help. "Is there a prob – gah!" Evie had smeared a great glob of foundation onto his cheek. She seized his chin to keep him from squirming and began spreading it around. Ben relaxed as he realized what was going on. "Oh, I see. Evie needs a doll." He allowed her to maneuver his head around. Evie sighed in relief.

"See guys? Ben doesn't squirm."

"We've already established that Ben isn't human," Mal called. "Let's move on."

"I'm not human?" Ben asked. His voice was mumbled since he didn't want to budge Evie while she worked. "What am I, then?"

"An angel," Evie informed him. "We think Belle came straight from heaven and, as her son, that makes you an angel too."

"I'm not sure that's how genetics works," Ben replied.

Carlos glanced over his screen at Ben. "How much makeup does he usually wear, Mal?" He asked. "I see no difference."

Mal spared her husband a lazy glance and watched him raise an eyebrow. "The difference is in his smile," she said. He blushed and rolled his eyes, and she decided to keep going. "But yeah, he's handsome no matter what."

Ben shook his head and then Evie tilted his head back to have better access to his eyes. Mal kept glancing up to watch as Evie skillfully decorated his eyes with a variety of vibrant colors, a bit like a peacock's feathers. She used more and more slate grey as she moved closer to his eyes and then it was eyeliner and mascara and then she began prepping his mouth to apply something to it. And it was at that point Mal had to put her foot down.

"Okay, Evie," she announced, throwing her phone onto the bed and getting to her feet. "I'll do his lip color."

"What?" Evie protested. "But he's my doll right now!"

"He's my husband," Mal replied, budging Evie aside and reaching forward to run her fingers down the edge of Ben's jaw. He squirmed like it tickled and then leaned into her touch. His eyes looked like they were on fire. Oh, she was going to have so much fun taking this all off later. She pictured him sweaty, head thrown back, and Ben leaned into her hand even more. Something in her eyes must have prompted him.

"Well, isn't that sexy?" Carlos drawled. Jay snorted in agreement. Evie sighed and took a step away, palming a dark pink lip gloss to Mal. Mal smirked as she uncapped it.

"Now," she muttered. "I'm not a natural like you and Evie are, but I've learned a thing or two from being with you." She ran her thumb across his lower lip and his mouth fell open with a sigh. She smirked as she outlined the outside of his upper lip and began to fill in the rest of it.

The door opened. Evie waved at the newcomer, but Mal didn't look up. Ben was trying not to smile as she cupped his chin and she was rather focused on how _attractive_ he looked with all those dark colors on his eyes and the way he was blushing and nearly _drooling_ as she began the left side of his mouth. She was fighting the urge to drop into his lap in front of her friends.

"What are you doing to him?" Former King Adam demanded, eyes wide as he took in the sight of his decorated son. Ben's head snapped around to face his confused parents. Mal frowned to see the arousal in his eyes turn to fear. She glanced towards Belle and Adam, glowering.

"I needed a doll," Evie volunteered. "And Ben happened to walk in. Mal and Carlos wouldn't let me and Jay's done."

Belle and Adam glanced over at Jay, who put two fingers into the air with a peace sign, puckering his shiny red lips.

Mal pinched her lips together and turned Ben's face back towards her. "Almost done," she said.

"What's Mal doing that for?" Adam demanded.

"She didn't want to let Evie cup Ben's face," Carlos provided.

"There!" Mal exclaimed, capping the lip gloss. "Don't you look attractive?" Ben blushed a little. She ran a hand down his jaw and then finally fell into temptation and dropped onto his lap. His hands grabbed her thighs to keep them both balanced. She saw him take a glance towards his parents and so she leaned forward and kissed him. Ben jolted backward.

"Mal!" He complained. "You ruined it!"

"Finishing touch." Mal ran her hands through his hair. "Gods, you look _delicious_."

Ben flushed again and braved up the courage to look at his parents. "What do you think, mother?" he asked.

Belle shrugged, putting a hand up to her chin as she thought. "It's not a horrible look," she decided. "Just odd to see it on you. I wouldn't mind it if Evie did that to me sometimes."

Adam shook his head and snorted. "I wouldn't make it a regular thing," he muttered.

Mal hummed, leaning to nip at his ear a little bit. She didn't care that she was being a tad indecent in front of his parents. "I wouldn't mind," she muttered in his ear and didn't miss the way his hands tightened on her thighs.

* * *

She put a photo up on the Internet one night. It was of them both with matching makeup in the bathroom. Ben thought it was a personal photo to be kept on her phone but in reality, it was a social experiment.

823 likes were on the photo when she woke up in the morning. She made sure to disable the reblogs and the site she uses doesn't allow for dislikes. She knew that wouldn't prevent screenshots or the tabloids, but hopefully, it'd make it harder for Ben to look through people's comments. She captioned it simply: "We match."

It was a bit of an underreaction. No articles aside from the ones that announce the photo's existence. Lots of likes, but only 34 comments. Mal wasn't sure what she expected. She knew the world wasn't going to stop turning, but people barely care at all. Most of the comments are simple. Only a few are not.

"Geesh, didn't realize the king was one of _those_ people."

"I can't believe he would let her do that to him. Poor Guy. Real Stellar, though."

Ben texted her shortly after lunch. "You posted it?" He asked. She didn't reply because they both knew the answer. He can look up the original post anyways – they follow each other.

That night, she said nothing when she leaned over his shoulder and he was skimming through the comments. Lists and lists of "😍" and "❤️". A few sparse comments of "You're both so gorgeous" and "I wish I was u." One read "He wears it better."

"Interesting," Mal muttered. "How many views on that post?"

"Just under a million," He muttered back. "Standard numbers for a day considering it was posted by the Queen of Auradon." He scrolled back up quickly, knowing she was still looking over his shoulder, and stopped beside a comment with a blue checkmark beside the user's name, indicating a confirmed account of someone important. Former King Adam: "Are you going to make this a regular thing?"

Mal scrolled one down and there is luckily just the sort of comment she needs right underneath it. "Such a good-looking pair! King Ben is rocking that contour!"

Ben just stared at it. Then he turned off his phone.

* * *

Five past seven and Ben wasn't home yet. Mal was debating calling the guards. Because, for as popular as they were and for everything they were allowed to do, he was still the King of Auradon and shouldn't be allowed to go missing for too long.

Ten past and she was pacing, turning her phone on and off. Then fifteen minutes have gone and she's finally dialing the number for the guards. They can find where he and she are at all times, even without going out to hunt him down. Ben's been microchipped to a computer since he was four days old and Mal underwent the same surgery upon returning from their honeymoon. It's one of the reasons they have the freedom to do so many things and go so many places. Once, when processing a new computer system, Ben's chip went momentarily offline and they locked him into a secure room for the three hours it took for the chip to be reinstated. They'd even been considering putting him in for a second surgery.

All things considered, the guards would be able to find Ben easily.

Right as her finger was hovering over the "call" button, the handle on the door turned. She'd never spun around so quickly. "Oh, Ben!" She exclaimed, tossing her phone onto the bed. "Where were you? I was just about to call the guards."

"Sorry I worried you," Ben muttered. He dropped three bags from a supermarket onto the bed beside her phone and stooped to give her a proper hug. Mal twisted and turned to peer at the bags.

"Did you go to the store?" She asked.

Ben nodded. She sat down on the bed as he made to pick up the bags and then simply tightened his jaw and began unpacking things. Mal blinked in surprise. Mascara, eyeshadow, three types of primer and foundation. Concealing cream, fake lashes… why so much?

"We don't have another royal event for two weeks," Mal moaned. "Why now? Is this all for me?"

Ben's hands faltered as he ripped off the packaging to a blue eyeliner. "No," he said softly. "I thought I would try something new. Yours is all purple and mine's blue. I decided… people don't generally notice and-"

"It's for you?" Mal sighed in relief. "Fantastic. Are you planning on wearing it for work?"

Ben shrugged. "Maybe?" he whispered. "I wouldn't want you to get embarrassed or anything."

"Never," Mal shook her head. She laid down on the bed before almost immediately popping back up with a smirk. She jumped off the bed, rushed to the closet, and began ripping things out. Her sudden movement made Ben jump, but he didn't say anything until she pulled out a pair of heels and a blue skirt she'd shoved to the back of her closet.

"Uh, Mal, I do enjoy wearing suits and I-"

"Here!" Mal exclaimed, throwing the shoes aside and coming up with a large drawstring bag. She loosened the string and upended everything onto the bed. Dozens and dozens of color palettes and lipsticks that she'd been sent over all the years of being friends with Evie and working in the courts as Ben's lady – things makeup companies and old friends and persistent people from the court who didn't approve of her would send – spread out all over the bed. One that seemed to have been made of pure silver sparkles had broken and so glitter rained down on top of the palettes. "Now that you're wearing makeup, you can take some of this stuff off my hands! Do you want it all? I won't be using it."

Ben blinked down at the pile. He seemed very unsure of what to say.

"If you don't want it then I'll probably just get rid of it," Mal nudged him.

He shook his head, dumbfounded. "You…" he put a hand to his head and smiled. "-are the best person ever." He pulled her into a hug. "Are you sure you won't be embarrassed?"

"No, I won't be," she shook her head. "Unless you wear, like, bubble-gum pink lipstick. Then we might have issues."

"We might have to get a separation order," Ben laughed. He let her withdraw only so he could lean down and give her a quick kiss before picking her up by her hips and setting her down on the bed. "But… you're okay with this? You don't think I'm weird because I like this?"

"Of course not," Mal murmured, running her fingertips down his chin. "You're just being a little bit more… Isle. We don't care as much as Auradon does." She curled her fingers into his hair with bruising tension. "And you know I like messing it up."

Ben shook his head and buried his nose into her shoulder. "Thank you," he murmured. "I love you."

"I love you too, Beastie."


	39. Westward Eastbound Part 1

Title: **Westward: Eastbound**  
Category: Movies » Descendants, 2015  
Author: WanderlustandFreedom  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: K  
Genre: Adventure/Drama  
Published: 03-13-20, Updated: 05-12-20  
Chapters: 9, Words: 48,553

* * *

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1**

* * *

**Westward; Eastbound - Part 1**

**I do not own Disney Descendants.**

**To be updated in parts. Also included with my Oneshots Collections**

* * *

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Ben crept around the coffee table with a grin plastered onto his face. He spotted a pair of light purple and pink-spotted socks peeking out from behind a heavy grey curtain and jumped forward to brush them away. A doll fell forward onto the floor beside his feet. Bamboozled again.

"Oh, come on!" He complained, turning to look back around the room. "You need to play fair!"

A giggle sounded from behind the couch. Ben pivoted and leaned over, but there was no one there. He wasn't to be fooled again though, so he flipped open the lid of the blanket basket and laughed when his eight-year-old looked up with a shocked expression. "Found you!" He exclaimed.

"What?" She squawked. "You _never_ look there!"

"Are you keeping track?" He laughed. "I didn't think you _could_ fit in there."

"I'm stuck," Belle nodded. "Can you help me out?"

Ben began to laugh in earnest as he leaned down and pried his wayward daughter out of her hiding place. It was a miracle she'd been able to fit. The basket was barely as big as she was. Belle finally stood up amongst the blankets and dusted off her blue dress. "Ugh, it was so stuffy in there," she snorted, holding her head up high. Ben rolled his eyes as she glanced over towards the window and let out a dramatic gasp. "You knocked Molly over!" she exclaimed and jumped out of the basket to rescue the doll.

"I was busy looking for you!" Ben protested as she scooped up the doll, which was half as big as she was, and combed its hair in a comforting manner. The doll was made of plastic and had the dimensions of a real-life toddler. It had been designed for a medical class so technicians could learn CPR and other lifesaving procedures for children. A pediatrician had brought one to Belle's public school and she'd been so impressed that she'd come home and taken up dozens of extra chores to earn one. She was a far cry from the Belle who would have thrown a tantrum for the thing. Ben honestly hated it. It made alarm sounds if you turned it upside down for too long or if it was trapped under something heavy or if something knocked into it hard. There was also a computer feature on it where it would cry every so often and you had to feed it or cradle it or do something to make it stop. It was supposed to mimic an actual child, but it only made it all the more creepy. Belle adored it, but Ben made her switch off the automatic crying every night before she went to bed.

Ben sighed and crouched down beside Belle as she checked the doll's arm, listened for breathing, and then went back to combing her brown hair. "Is she okay?" He asked.

Belle nodded. "I think so," she agreed and then adjusted the doll's dress so it fit better against the doll's body."

"Your Majesty?" Someone called from the door. Ben looked up. The door had been left open and a footman was now waiting in the doorway.

"Yes?" Ben asked, standing up straight and fixing the cuffs on his shirt.

"You're needed in your office," the foreman informed him. "It'll only be a moment."

Ben nodded and patted Belle on the shoulder. "You can stay here," he told her, "Or you can go find Mom. I think she went for a walk after she got off work."

"I have to stay here and make sure Molly doesn't have any bruises," Belle huffed dramatically. She flipped over her wrist and examined her pink plastic watch. It had come in a children's meal from a fast-food restaurant they'd stopped at on their way home from a meeting and she liked it more than the glass-face watch Audrey had gotten for her years ago. This was a toy Ben approved of - he could give her the day's schedule and she'd meticulously write in her assignments alongside his and every once in a while come back to him to compare his watch to hers and make sure both were correct. "Oh, and it's almost nap time and I haven't picked out a book for her!"

"Naptime?" Ben asked. "What about lunch?"

"It can wait," Belle huffed. "Or, actually-" she glanced at her watch again and furrowed her brow. "No, it can't! I have to go to the library afterward to pick out a book to show Grandma and then Mom's going to be here to take me to the park!" She threw her head back in exasperation. "There's not enough time in the day!"

"Your majesty?" The footman called from the door.

"Coming!" Ben got to his feet and crossed the room quickly. The footman began to walk ahead of him to his office, glancing back at every corner to make sure he was still coming. Ben followed to the office and discovered that three people were inside, waiting for him. It was the Charming family, consisting of Chad, his wife Alexis, and their son Liam. "Chad!" Ben exclaimed, stepping forward and clapping his old friend on the back as they exchanged a hug. "It's marvelous to see you again!"

"Hello, Ben," Chad returned the hug, but not with as much enthusiasm. They broke apart and Ben took a seat behind his desk. Everyone else sat down in front of him without being prompted. Chad didn't even take the time to re-introduce his son and mention that he was sitting in on this meeting for future training or anything. Ben frowned.

"We have news," Chad explained without being prompted. "An emergency, I'm afraid. It came to my attention late last night and we came straight away to inform you in person." He withdrew a photo from a file case that had been set on a seat and slid a photo forward to Ben. Ben leaned forward and frowned. He recognized it immediately. It was the Isle of the Lost. And, near the old port where the magical bridge would be conjured up if anyone ever decided to go over, there was a visible hole underneath it.

"How long has that been there?" Ben asked, picking up the photo to examine it further. It was quite a wide rip… maybe thirty feet across.

"Since two days ago," Chad admitted. "My overseers saw it open and tried to remotely close it, but I'm afraid the equipment is rather old and… well, it doesn't work anymore. After doing everything they could, they brought the matter to me and now I'm bringing it to you. We've already sent out a ship to guard the opening, but it's possible something with magic… like Dr. Facilier, Ursula, or - God forbid - Maleficent might have already escaped."

"Maleficent?" A voice repeated from the doorway. Everyone turned. Audrey was standing in the doorway, looking startled. Ben's face softened to see her.

"Hey," he smiled and got to his feet. "How was your walk?"

"Fine," She stepped inside and took his hands. They shared a quick hello kiss. "What's going on?"

"The barrier to the Isle of the Lost is broken," Chad explained. "We found it two days ago."

"And Maleficent escaped?" Audrey asked, crossing her arms.

"No." Ben shook his head and retook his seat. "That's just speculation. So far, we have a ship out watching it and no one's escaped that we know of."

"The Isle has been quiet for the last few years," Chad speculated, rubbing the base of his chin. "If they've been planning something and they were quick… they could have got away."

"What do you mean by quiet?" Audrey demanded, then looked down at Ben. "Do we know where everyone is?"

"Oh, we keep track of most of the villains and note when they appear on cameras," Chad butted in before Ben could respond. "But two years ago, all the children stopped showing up on the cameras. Everyone twenty-two to four went underground. There are new kids now, of course, but we think the older ones went to the back of the Island, away from their parents."

Ben pinched his lips together to suppress a little smile and then continued examining the photo. The older children had escaped - underneath Chad's nose - and headed to the West, where they now had their own little place of safety away from their parents, ruled by a three-person team. It wasn't quite a secret that they were there - plenty of the contractors and constructors who had headed over knew the villain kids quite well and a few people traveled over without ever knowing whose territory they were going through, but Ben hadn't announced them at the request of Evie, who wanted to establish the community before it was added to Auradon as a Kingdom.

"What are we going to do?" Audrey asked, glancing down on the photo and then shifting her weight from side to side. "Is there anything we can do?"

"We ought to count the villains on the Isle right now," Ben decided, taking the photo and turning it upside down. He could tell that Audrey was panicking over the sight of it. "I'm worried about Ursula in particular… if the rip extends under the water then it's harder to tell if she's escaped already. However, I don't want to call attention to the breach. We don't need people taking advantage of it."

"Understood," Chad nodded and glanced at his wife. "Alexis proposed we erect some sort of secondary barrier or a monitoring spell at the least over the rip while we figure out how to fix the rip."

"Call the Fairy Godmother," Ben nodded. "She should be able to help with both the rip and a second barrier." He glanced up at Audrey. "Maybe your Fairy Godmothers could help with that as well?"

"Maybe," Audrey nodded. She was looking past Ben, out the window, and into the distance. He glanced out, but there was nothing there and he knew she was only spacing out again. She had been doing that ever since he ripped out the curtains in her room and closed the spa on all days except Monday.

"We will contact her," Chad decided, and the three of his family got to their feet. "Thank you, Ben. We'll be in touch."

They took their leave out of the office. Ben busied himself with scribbling a note down to reach out to them later and then glanced at Audrey. She was focused on the window still, gazing out at nothing. Ben sighed. "You're doing it again," he murmured softly, trying his best not to nag.

Audrey snapped back to the present and let out an irritated sigh. "Let it go, Ben," she grumbled, sitting down in a chair near the door. "I'm just… thinking. Nothing's wrong with me."

"You're having trouble focusing," Ben told her. "You keep going unresponsive. You used to never do that."

"Plenty of people think, Ben," Audrey replied. "And I did what you wanted. I went for a walk. I went _outside."_ She waved her hand to the window and made a fluttering motion with her fingertips. Ben frowned. It was clear from her tone of voice she still thought he was being ridiculous. "Listen, I know you have this belief that nature restores everything, but I've been having this thought lately-" She spread her hands as if framing something on the wall behind him. "What if I'm just getting older? What if that's what this is?"

"Geriatrics at twenty-nine," Ben snorted. Audrey let out an annoyed breath as he started going through random papers atop his stack. There weren't many though, and soon he was left with the option to find something else to occupy his attention or look at Audrey and engage in awkward silence. He stood up and wandered to the window, opening it. Audrey shivered before the first breeze had ever swept into the room and stood up.

"Where's our daughter?" She asked.

"It's Molly's nap time," he rolled his eyes. "I believe she's reading and putting her to bed."

Audrey stared at him as if he had two heads. A blank and confused look was frozen on her face as she stared at a point just over his left ear, processing. "Oh," she nodded and pressed a hand to her head. "I didn't know she was reading yet. Did her last nanny teach her?"

"We don't have nannies anymore," Ben reminded her patiently, though he felt like grinding his teeth together. "I taught her. Remember, we read in the evenings now?"

"Yes, of course!" Audrey snapped. "I'm not stupid, Ben." She paused, then raked the fingers of one hand through her hair. "I just… I thought Molly was still struggling, and-"

"Molly is the doll, Audrey," Ben interrupted. "Our daughter's name is Belle. Remember? Belle?" His voice was rising now - Audrey's face bloomed over red and puce.

"I got mixed up!" She snapped. "I forgot about the doll. I was talking about the… the… the peasant girl who keeps coming over to play with her. The one you said was a good influence."

"Morgan," Ben supplied, and yes, he could see how she confused the two names. "Morgan isn't a peasant girl, Audrey. Her mother is a developmental psychologist. She's the one we used to take Belle to. But she doesn't have a nanny. Never has."

"I can't believe you thought I would forget my own daughter's name!" Audrey snapped, ignoring what he'd just said. "What kind of monster do you think I am?"

"Well, you seem content to-" Ben shut himself off. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I… I apologize. I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, no." Audrey shook her head. "Do go on. What do I seem content to forget? I'm the one who participates at her school."

"The school that I put her in."

"I put her in the first seven-"

"You didn't care when she got dropped out of every single-"

"You weren't ever there! You were always busy-"

"I was busy because you couldn't be bothered to-"

"It wasn't a problem for you then-"

"It was always a problem! I just-"

"You need to-"

"Mom?" The little voice came from the doorway and Audrey stopped mid-sentence to glance down and then turn to pick Belle up. Belle's head dropped onto Audrey's shoulder as mother and daughter shared a hug. Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She chuckled and ran a hand down Belle's back.

"You smell nice, little one."

"Thanks, mommy."

Audrey set Belle back down and Belle glanced over at her father, who got down on one knee to be on eye level with her as he held out a hand for a fist bump. "Did you put Molly to bed okay?" he asked.

Belle nodded. "I checked her pulses," she announced as if it were an ordinary thing. "She's a bit on the dead side but I'll give her medicine when she wakes up and she'll live."

Ben wasn't sure that was entirely how medicine worked.

"That sounds like a good idea, pumpkin," Audrey told Belle. "You take such good care of your dolly - maybe one day you can come up with something that fixes Mommy's aches too."

"Dad says if you eat lots of fruits and veggies and go outside to play then it helps," Belle suggested. Ben lifted his eyes to Audrey as if to say "I-told-you-so," and Audrey pinched her lips together.

"Mommy has different problems than that, honey."

Belle shrugged. "It worked for me. I don't get tummy aches anymore." She put a hand to her midsection and rubbed her belly. "Dad, I'm hungry. Can we get a snack?'

"Sure," Ben nodded and scooped her up into his arms. Her unicorn t-shirt slid up against his arm and Belle squirmed to pull it back down. Ben stopped to kiss Audrey's cheek before he stepped out of the office and murmured: "We'll be out on the porch." She didn't respond. A corner of the office had transfixed her, and she was gone. Ben huffed and turned out the lights. She never remembered to do it herself and he was tired of the expense it was causing. He left the door open and the window letting in a breeze. Audrey wouldn't notice either until she eventually came back to herself.

Belle curled into his shoulder. She hadn't noticed yet that Audrey wasn't always herself.

* * *

Nineteen months and he still couldn't get used to sleeping without the window open.

It was the closest he could get on a reasonable night to sleeping outside. Sometimes he actually would sleep outside, out on the porch or in a hammock or sometimes in a tent where Belle could play the next day. But most nights he was inside, fully clad in soft plaids and warm flannel and thick socks with the ceiling fans on high and the windows open - even in the winter. Even on fall nights like these.

Audrey thought he was insane.

It helped a bit - coping with the distance and with his job and the daily grind of things. Things had gotten better over the years. He hadn't seen Mal since he'd left (which might have been for the better) but he and Evie had exchanged letters off and on for about four months after he'd left before they'd both gotten too busy to keep up. He still heard about the VK's when they requested additional help from Auradon, but things were smooth-sailing now. They didn't need his help.

Ben rolled over in his bed. The other side was, of course, empty. Ben had told Audrey about two months after arriving that he was going to move back into the master bedroom and that redecoration would be coming with him. He'd arranged for her to keep all her things - her favorite rug and limited collection of bath bombs, among other treasures, but she'd been so furious she'd moved into a separate suite next to Belle's rather than room with him. Her room was decorated to her tastes, and Ben wasn't going to force her to change that. He knew this whole thing had been a shock for her. Still, her hate bit at him. When they had married, he had pictured falling asleep beside her. Waking up and kissing her hair until she awoke with a smile on her face. Children - plural. But Audrey wanted none of it. And he couldn't hold anything against her.

He rolled back onto his back - why was he so sleepless tonight? It had been a rather relaxing night. He and Belle had eaten together and read while Audrey dined separately in her room. Audrey had come down to help him put Belle to bed - which was an improvement, and one he was pleased to see. She even checked that Belle had brushed her teeth before they'd turned off the light. Still, she had gone back to her room without saying much to him.

Ben wished his brain would shut off.

He tossed back onto his front and shook his pillow twice before burying his face into it. For a moment, he imagined it was a rolled-up fur jacket instead and the cut of the wind felt sharper, but then the silk of the bedsheets brought him back to the palace.

Something fell in the next room over. Ben sat up, blinking. There was a shuffling sound - someone had tripped over whatever had been disturbed. Was it Belle, trying to sneak into his room? Ben swung his feet over the edge of the bed, found his slippers, and got to his feet. He walked to the door, opened it, and peered outside.

The culprit froze in the center of the room, over the blanket basket that had been kicked from where he and Belle had accidentally left it earlier. He stared at Ben. Ben stared back. In the distance, Ben thought he heard a familiar, firm voice telling him he should call the guards now.

Because the culprit had flaming blue hair.

Ben cleared his throat. "Can I help you?" he asked slowly, taking in the fact that this man - this god - was standing in his living room. This villain who should be on the Isle right now.

Hades blinked, looked over his shoulder, gestured to himself, and exhaled. "Your majesty," he coughed and cleared his throat. "I am… sorry to disturb you."

"Oh, no, I was awake," Ben nodded. He let his hands drop from where they had remained on the doorframes. "I thought you were…" Actually, it probably wasn't best to draw a villain's attention to his daughter. "Nevermind."

Hades leaned down and propped the blanket basket back up before hurriedly stuffing all that had fallen out of it back in. He cleared his throat but said nothing. Ben decided to ask again.

"Is there… a reason you're here? Something I can do to help you?" The hairs on his neck were starting to fall again. Hades didn't seem intent on hurting him, at least. And prior experience with the children of the villains had taught him that negotiations were easier if you offered to do something without charge. If Hades was anything like the kids, he'd be wary of debt and insist on repaying any favor.

Hades seemed surprised he was being regarded so kindly despite the situation. He straightened up and stared. Ben ran a hand through his hair so he wasn't standing awkwardly and then gestured to the couches around Hades. "Here," he invited. "Have a seat. Do you want me to send for something?"

"No," Hades declined, though he took a seat. Ben walked over and sat on an adjacent couch. He took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"So… you're here in my living room in the middle of the night… and there's nothing you need me to do for you?"

"I'm here for information," Hades replied stiffly. "I'm not here to… threaten you or…" he exhaled. "I, uh, was going to sneak in and sneak out without taking anything."

Ben clasped his hands together. "Well, what were you looking for?" he asked.

Hades shifted. "Well… a few years ago, I don't know if you know, there was a group of kids that left the Isle of the Lost. They came to Auradon… wanted to strike out by themselves."

"I know," Ben nodded. "They were led by three girls. They went to Charmington, and that's where they were found."

"Are you holding them, then?" Hades asked.

"No," Ben shook his head in response. "They live out west now. They have their own lands and everything. I set the land aside for their use."

"You did?" If Hades was surprised at first, it was nothing compared to now. "Well… that's wonderful. I, uh, didn't expect that." He ran a hand through his hair. "Well, see here, I had one of my kiddos leave with that group and I've always worried about her a bit… I wanted to drop by and see her and… maybe not get sent back to the Isle."

Ben paused and furrowed his brow. "Well," he began, "These kids were specifically fleeing from parents. If I send you over, how do I know-"

"I'm not an abuser," Hades replied flatly. "I don't have any proof, but I'm not. I didn't even get to raise my kiddo - her mother was a bit of a freak. But I watched over her until the day she was gone - and I don't want to be part of her life if she hates me - I just want to make sure she's taken care of and happy and everything."

Ben nodded slowly. His brain felt a bit foggy from the surprise, but he understood. "Okay," he agreed. "I can arrange for that."

Hades blinked in surprise. "You can?" he nodded.

"Sure." Ben shrugged. "I'm the King - I can do whatever I want. And if you want to see your daughter, then you can see your daughter." He stifled a yawn - of course, he'd feel tired now - and then squinted at Hades. "One question: how did you get out?"

"Well, I used the old machine the kids left behind and figured out the code to flip it on and from there, I just used my powers to open the barrier."

"How long ago?" Ben asked.

"Two days, now," Hades shrugged. "I went to the underworld to see if I could see where she'd gone from my realm, but I couldn't. And then-"

"Sorry," Ben interrupted. "Two more questions, please. One, how did you get out without being seen, and two, did you happen to open the barrier near the old Port de la Grande?"

Hades stared. "Yes…" he trailed off. "I used my helmet of invisibility."

Ben pressed his lips together. "Did you close the barrier after you left?" he asked. "Because we have a gaping hole underneath that port that we can't close remotely."

A color spread into Hades's cheeks. "I… meant to close it," he stammered. "I musta… not understood the machinery or something - you can't close it?"

"It must have been broken when you came through." Ben ran a hand through his hair. "There's a large hole… at least twenty feet across."

"Twenty feet?" Hades echoed. "I didn't do that. "I slipped through in about three feet." He chuckled nervously. However, this did nothing to console Ben.

"Well, then it must be getting wider," he reasoned and got to his feet to pace across the room. "I'll have to call Chad… let him know. I don't suppose there's a way you can fix it? Yes, I thought not. Well, I'll still help you get to the West if you want. I believe there's some sort of spell that keeps some people out… we can send you with a carriage with our ensign and you'll be able to get in with that."

"That would be wonderful," Hades agreed, relaxing a little though he still looked a little embarrassed. "Thank you for your hospitality. I'm sorry for the barrier."

Ben waved him off. "We'll get it worked out," he assured him, then paused to yawn. "So long as Maleficent doesn't figure out it's there, we'll be fine." He braced his hands on the back of the couch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's getting late. If you want, there is an empty suite across the hall that should be maintained. You're welcome to have it for the night and in the morning I'll have horses and a carriage prepped to take you to the West."

Hades stood up, still looking a little lost. "Wait," he requested, holding up his hands. "Is… is that it?"

Ben tilted his head. "Unless you need anything else?"

"Well…" Hades trailed off. "Do you offer to send everyone who breaks into your suite across the country?"

"To be fair, you're the first time this has happened, and I'm not sure it'll become a trend." Although he had offered the group of people who had kidnapped him on a diplomatic trip a kingdom of their own and ditched his family for two months to support them, so he didn't exactly have a great track record for dealing with wrongdoers. Oh well.

Hades stared at him as if he was unsure he was speaking with the right person. Ben ran his hands up and down his face and yawned. "Let's talk more in the morning," he decided and then turned to walk back into his room. He listened briefly to see if Hades would say anything, but no further comment was added.

He shut the door to his room again and, after a few moments, heard Hades leave.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Chapter 2**

* * *

Ben woke up with his eight-year-old kneeling on his legs and leaning down over his face. "Dad, who's that man in our living room?" Belle asked as soon as she could see that his eyes were open.

Ben lifted a hand and rubbed his eyes. "Does he have blue hair?" he wondered.

"Yes," Belle nodded. "It's on fire."

Ben sat up and yawned. "That is someone who's come for my help, Belle. I need you to be on your best behavior."

"Does his hair burn him?" Belle wondered.

"Probably not," Ben reasoned.

"Would it burn me?"

"Let's not find out." Ben decided. He picked her up underneath her arms and then set her back down once he had moved his legs. He got up and then nodded at the covers. "Want to help me make my bed?" he asked.

"No," Belle turned her nose into the air and slid off the bed. "One is too many. Why don't we have the maid come to make our beds like Mom does?"

"Because you need to have some chores to keep your body strong," Ben told her. "If Mom did her own chores, she wouldn't be so sick all the time."

Belle huffed. "Well, okay, I'll make my bed, but I won't make yours." She blew her brown hair out of her eyes. "I'm going to go wake up Mom," she decided and headed for the door. "She needs to do my hair."

"Goodbye!" Ben called. He pulled the comforter straight and sighed. it occurred to him that he'd have to get to Audrey and inform her of their… odd guest before she found him and had a panic attack. With that thought in mind, he quickly yanked the pillows into place and then headed for the living room.

Hades was sitting in the living room, looking stiff but alert. Ben offered him a smile and a little wave. "Good morning," he bid him. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did," Hades nodded. "I, uh, didn't know you had a daughter?"

"Yes, I do," Ben nodded. "That's who I thought you were when I walked in last night. Belle."

Hades wrinkled his nose. "You could have named her better," he remarked.

"Family gatherings are a little confusing," Ben admitted with a shrug. "I guess my family just isn't good at naming people. My mom picked Florian for my middle name."

The corner of Hades's mouth crooked up. "My wife - well, ex-wife - picked our daughter's name and I have never forgiven myself on her behalf."

Ben snorted. "Yes, I knew one of the villain kids who had an awful middle name too," he said. Hades gave him an odd ook and it occurred to Ben that he probably didn't know the full story - that Ben had been swiped and then accidentally become the villain's savior. Something to be explained later. He gestured to the door out into the hall. "Well, I am going to go inform the queen you're here before there's a mix-up or anything. Breakfast is usually served in a room down the hall. You can go help yourself. It'll be the one with the open door and all the windows though if you follow your nose you should be able to find it." He began retreating while still talking. "If you can't find it, I or Belle will be out in a moment to show you. Audrey usually takes a while to get ready."

Hades nodded but didn't move. Ben slipped out into the hall and then began to walk down to where Belle's room was. Belle's room still held a mix of bright oranges and pinks in the rug and the lamp and her clothes, among other possessions, but it was now painted a muted beige and held grey and white accents instead of the sensory overload it had been two years ago. Belle loved it, so that was what was important, but Ben could do without all the stickers and pictures she'd hung on her walls.

In Audrey's room, the decor resembled what most of the palace had been before Ben had changed it. Vivid pink and yellow and orange. Ben skirted around Audrey's prized rug and ducked under a bunch of jewels she had hanging from the ceiling - was that really necessary? Her room was overstuffed with furniture she had saved when Ben flipped the palace decorations around and Ben had to lean to avoid the giant pillows stacked precariously atop each other.

Inside the bathroom, Belle was babbling as Audrey carefully combed her hair up into a high ponytail. Both girls were smiling and there was even some color in Audrey's cheeks as she carefully arranged the braid she was tying up into the pony. Ben leaned against the doorframe and watched them chatter. Belle's eyes lit up when she saw him. "Hi dad!" she smiled.

"Hello Belle," he waved and then locked eyes with Audrey as his wife opened a drawer stuffed with hair accessories. "Your hair looks nice."

"Only one," Audrey whispered to Belle. Belle ignored the compliment as she began searching through scrunchies and clips. She folded her arms across herself and closed her eyes in discomfort or pain. Ben stepped further into the bathroom and slipped his arm around her. His hand landed in the small of her back to support her as she took a deep, steadying breath. "My body is betraying me," she laughed, leaning back into his touch. Ben made sure not to let his expression change at all.

"I think my favorite color is pink today," Belle mused as she shuffled past a diamond-encrusted claw clip. "Actually, no, it's purple. Do you have anything with polka dots?"

Audrey leaned forward to withdraw a vibrant purple scrunchie with pink polka dots. Belle nodded happily and Audrey began wrapping the velvet scrunchie into her daughter's hair. Ben watched the purple in her hands and felt himself falling into a little trance. Then, he remembered what he'd come to say.

"We have a visitor," he announced. "I just want you to know so you don't… get confused or anything."

"From the kingdoms?" Audrey asked.

"Mom, he's got blue hair!" Belle exclaimed happily.

"Oh, I see," Audrey smiled and put her hands on Belle's shoulders. "He and dad must be exchanging fashion advice!" She poked Belle's sides and the little girl squealed and shrieked. Audrey laughed with her.

"Belle?" Ben asked when Audrey had let up tickling their daughter. "Why don't you run and show him where the food is? I don't want him to get lost." Belle nodded, leaned up to kiss Audrey's cheek, and then scurried out of the room. Audrey's smile faded as Belle left. She picked up her hairbrush in the absence of any conversation and then began combing through her hair. Ben cleared his throat. "I know what this is going to look like to you, and so I just need you to know about him before you go out there," he told her. "He, uh, has come for help and I'm going to help him."

"Of course you are," Audrey nodded. "You always help everyone."

"This is a little different," Ben sighed. "He's… looking for his daughter. I'll be seeing him off later today. He, uh, has an interesting backstory."

Audrey paused in brushing her hair. "Interesting?" she asked.

Ben took her hand and pulled her a little closer so he didn't have to talk as loud. He doubted the sound could reach out of the room with all the overcrowding out there, but it just felt like something that should be whispered instead of said. "Audrey, it's Hades. He's just come from the Isle of the Lost and he's looking for the kids that left the Isle a few years ago."

Audrey's eyes grew wide. "But he - the barrier!" She squawked.

"He broke it to come looking for her. But it's okay! Everything's under control! We know where they are and we're going to send him off after breakfast."

"You know where those kids went?" Audrey demanded. "The ones Chad was talking about?"

"You were listening?" Ben blinked in surprise.

"Ben!"

"I'm sorry! I just-" he took a deep breath. "Yes, I know where those kids went. They also came for me to help. Or, well, they brought me to - it doesn't matter! Yes, I know where they are."

"You didn't tell me?" Audrey shrieked.

"It was back before you were working in office!" Ben snapped. He brought his hands up to his face to momentarily block her out and then took a deep breath. "Listen, we're going to get the barrier fixed… Hades is going to go this afternoon and then I promise everything will be okay. I just need to not call the guards on him or insult him for one morning."

"Hades," Audrey deadpanned. "The God of the Underworld who tried to destroy the world."

"Don't call the guards." Ben leveled a finger to her nose. "And don't insult him."

Audrey rolled her eyes.

Breakfast was almost boring. Ben had to rush Belle out halfway through so she could get her school clothes on. She came back and gave a twirl and Ben caught Hades staring at her wistfully. Audrey snuck into the dining room after she was dressed, ignored Hades and Ben, kissed Belle's head, and then disappeared towards the spa. It was Monday, the only day Ben will let the spa attendant come in anymore, and so he knew he wouldn't see her until tomorrow morning.

A message came that the carriage Ben had requested was now prepared and out in front.

"I'll have to walk Belle down to the bus stop soon," he told Hades. "But let's go down to my office and I'll write you a letter to show people in charge of the Villain Kid's territory so you can prove I sent you over. That way, if you get stopped on the road, you won't be arrested and brought back either."

Ben's office was left exactly the way he'd shut it down yesterday. His seat was cold from the breeze coming through the window. The papers on his were a bit moist. Ben sat down and began searching for a piece of cold stationery. Hades began to examine a map of Auradon hanging on the wall behind him.

"They're out past Arendelle," Ben supplied, testing a pen out on a sticky note.

"You have it marked," Hades agreed. "VK Hideaway."

"It had a nice ring."

Hades examined the map several more seconds and then turned to look over Ben's shoulder. It appeared both of them were at a loss of what to say as Ben addressed the letter "To Whom It May Concern."

"I, uh, have you figured out how to fix the barrier?" Hades asked.

"No," Ben shook his head. "But we'll have to soon. I don't want anyone bad getting out. You're fine, but there are a few people I wouldn't necessarily want to have show up on my doorstep."

"I get it," Hades agreed. "But there are some people like me over there. Lots of parents pushed their kids to go, even knowing they'd never see them again."

Ben paused. He tried to imagine never, ever being able to see Little Belle again. Then, with a swallow, he found his voice again. "That's rough," he said. "I'll have to do something about that. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."

Hades looked confused. "You know," he sighed. "It's a lot harder to hate you when you realize that you're not a bad guy. I know a great lot of people out on that island who'd kill you right now without a second thought." He turned back to the map and started tracing the VK spot with his fingertip.

"Glad to see I'm liked," Ben sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was about halfway through his letter. "There are some people out on that island I'm terrified to meet, though. I mean, imagine if Maleficent had escaped. If she's anything like her daughter in terms of power, Auradon would have been history."

Hades stopped and looked at Ben curiously. "The daughter of Maleficent?" he asked slowly.

"Her name is Mal." Ben looked up and tilted his head to the side as he talked. "Very powerful young lady. She once told me she could use some magic through the barrier. She's the protector of the encampment now."

"Ah," Hades nodded and a little smile spread across his mouth. "Good to hear."

Ben turned back to his letter. "She's not against Auradon, luckily for us. But goodness, if Maleficent came for us, that'd be-"

"What's that?" Hades cut Ben off, staring out the open window. Ben turned and followed his gaze. Out over the treeline, a thick green fog was approaching. Ben got to his feet.

"I have no idea," he admitted. Dread pooled in his stomach.

"Maleficent," Hades's hands dropped to his side. "You spoke of the devil, and she appeared."

"Oh my…" A sound like white noise filled Ben's ears. "Audrey!" He dropped his pen and ran for the door. Hades kept close behind him.

"Where would Belle have gone?" He demanded in a yell.

"Probably her room to wait for me!" Ben responded. Hades nodded and hurried away. Ben dashed towards the spa as the castle shook. Green smoke clouded at the windows and began to seep in through the open ones. It smelled tart and burnt at the same time. Ben held his breath, fearing it might be something that would knock him out, but nothing happened.

He burst into the spa room and discovered Audrey sitting up in a chair, looking confused as she squinted suspiciously at the smoke outside the exposed window. A bathrobe was drawn over her and she was dressed in slacks and a pink shirt. Her feet were bare. When she saw the smoke seeping into the room behind him, she gasped. "What is that?" she demanded.

"Maleficent!" Ben gasped, rushing forward and grabbing her hand. "We need to get out. You need to get out."

The spa attendant rushed out, covering her face with a wet towel. Ben pulled Audrey by the hand to the hall. Audrey didn't resist, but she wasn't moving very fast. "But - Belle!" she sputtered.

"She's going to be outside, don't worry!" Ben shouted. They began to run down the hall together, but before they'd even transversed ten feet Audrey had to grab the wall for support. Her face was deathly pale as she clutched at her ribs.

"I can't run!" she gasped.

"You and your-" Ben almost threw his hands into the air. Around the corner, in the entrance hall, there was a loud bang. Maniacal laughter filled the area. Audrey's face went even paler.

"I'm back!" Maleficent cackled from the entryway. "Where are you?"

A hand appeared on Ben's shoulder. He turned and discovered Hades quietly ushering him back towards the family rooms. Without a second thought, Ben scooped Audrey up into his arms, ignoring her little cry as he forced her body to curl up a bit, and they headed into the living room that was attached to the master. Just in time as Maleficent entered the hall and began to search through rooms.

Hades guided them into Ben's bedroom, where the window was open. Belle sat beside the open window with the screen on the ground, clutching Molly the Doll with her backpack set on both shoulders securely. Ben leaned out the window and discovered Audrey's hideous mountain of pillows had somehow appeared under the window. He assumed Hades's godly magic had had something to do with that.

"Let's get out," Hades decided, picking up Belle.

"What about Maleficent?" Ben asked. "Could you take her?"

Hades let out a laugh. "Until that woman dies, I've got nothing," he said. He climbed up on the railing and cuddled Belle close to him before leaning out. Audrey shrieked and leaned towards the window. Ben winced, but no one appeared. Down below, Hades and a now-crying Belle rolled safely off the mountain. Ben took Audrey's hand and made to help her up.

"I'm not going down there!" Audrey declared, leaning away from the window. Her hands were pressed to her back, trying to give herself additional support.

"It's either get down and get to the carriage in front or meet your mother's enemy, who'd probably love to see you anyways," Ben snapped. Audrey pinched her lips together and allowed herself to be helped up. tears started to roll down her cheeks as she was forced to use her back and ribs for balance. It only took a second, then she, too, fell.

Ben put one foot on the windowsill and started to lean up. He heard a door slam somewhere in the palace. "Oh, Princey!" Maleficent called, louder than she should be allowed to be from such a distance. "Where are you? I need your help! You have something I need!"

Something she needed? What? She was out of the barrier… the scepter she had been allowed to keep on the Isle, he knew that. Her spellbook was with Mal - oh. Mal.

The villain kids. What if she went after them?

He had their location in his office.

Ben put his feet back on the ground. Hades finished helping Audrey up and looked up for him. Ben gestured for them to go and then dashed back into the palace. He ducked behind the couch, barely hiding his feet behind the blanket basket when Maleficent appeared in the doorway.

She was both a lot larger and a lot smaller than Ben would have thought. He'd never seen the mistress of all evil but had imagined her to be taller than Mal. On the contrary, she was even shorter than her daughter. Her horns were adorned with rusty chains. Her cloaks billowed out around her as she walked. And she held a set of features eerily similar to the ones that had haunted his dreams. That same thin nose. That same slip of pink mouth. The sparkling, power-filled eyes.

Maleficent went into the bedroom and as soon as her back was turned, Ben made a run for it. She didn't seem to notice him leaving as he disappeared into the thick fog. He hit the hallways and dashed down to his office before grabbing the map Hades had been admiring off the wall and tearing it down. The mount it had been hanging on fell with a clatter. Ben ripped open desk drawers, knowing he didn't have much time, and grabbed a heavy booklet marked "VK's". Then, before he left, he grabbed the mostly-finished letter he'd written for Hades. And it was these things he made off with from his office.

He escaped through the front entry as Hades was finishing shoving Audrey into the carriage and putting Belle into her arms. A terrified coachman sat with shaking hands as Ben sprinted down the steps and practically threw everything into the carriage. Hades jumped in and Ben grabbed the handle beside the door as the carriage began to move. Hades yanked him the rest of the way in.

"Oh, gods," Audrey began to cry as he sat down beside her. She leaned her head into his arms and began to weep. Belle, too, was sobbing and squeezing her doll.

"Tell the carriage driver that we're still going to the same place," Ben told Hades, pulling Audrey and Belle up and into his lap together. Audrey didn't weigh much, so it wasn't an issue.

"Where are we going?" Audrey hiccuped, wiping her eyes while burying her face into Ben's chest.

"The VK Hideaway," Ben responded softly. "I know a person… she might be the only person who can stop Maleficent."

* * *

Audrey was too devastated and shocked and in pain to talk to Ben on the way there. It was only long after they passed Charmington that she was able to curl out of his side. The road wasn't as treacherous as before since Ben had ended up repaving the roads all the way out to VK Territory. Now, you could move faster.

Belle slowly came back to herself, occupying her time with caring for Molly and talking with Hades while her mom sat in numb silence and her dad tried to comfort her. She didn't understand why they had left so suddenly, what had happened at the castle, or why they couldn't go back at the moment.

Audrey broke her silence on the second day of traveling. "Ben, did you ever go for a meeting to the VK's?"

Hades glanced over. It was clear he, too, was interested in the response.

"Sort of," Ben replied with a shrug. "I met them when they first came to Auradon. I stayed with them for two months while they relocated to the west. They'd previously taken up refuge in Chad's kingdom."

"How many?" Audrey asked.

"About two hundred when I met them," Ben responded. "But… some of the kids were older. They might have some new children now." He turned around to glance at Belle, curled up on the floor with Molly. "Maybe Belle will be able to make some new friends."

Audrey ran her hands through her hair, which looked stringy and greasy. It was probably the first time in her life she hadn't changed her clothes in twelve hours. "What are we going to do about Maleficent?"

Ben drummed his fingers on his legs. He closed his eyes and Mal's image appeared behind his eyelids, unbidden. "I'll have to ask the VK's for help. There's one person in particular who I know could take out Maleficent. I just have to ask her."

"Her daughter?" Hades asked softly.

"She has a daughter?" Audrey yelped, spinning to face Ben.

Ben nodded. "She's nice, though. It'll be okay."

"She's going to hate me," Audrey whimpered. "She won't agree."

Ben chewed on his cheek. He technically considered himself and Mal to have parted on equal terms but knew she wouldn't consider it the same. Maybe, with a bit of imploring and the sake of her own life and people on end, he could convince her to help him win back Auradon? She might not be able to take out the faery on her own, but with the added forces of Auradon and-

"Dad, I want to go home," Belle moaned from the floor. "We've been in here forever!"

Ben leaned down and picked her up. She kicked his leg lightly to further express her disgust and then fell, sullen, against his chest. "We're almost there," he whispered. "We can't go home yet, but we'll get some help and then we will."

* * *

There was a barrier that had been erected at the borders of Arendelle. It was mostly transparent unless you were at the base of it, which Ben and everyone were. Then, it became bright green and looked like it had been made of glass. Audrey began to huff in fear when she saw the color. She had been sleeping restlessly since leaving the castle and Ben knew seeing something so similar to the fog wasn't going to help her nerves at all. Belle, too, looked scared.

Hades cleared his throat as the carriage wheeled closer to the barrier. "Listen, kid, I know what I told you about my daughter, and that was all true. However, with this new development with Maleficent… I don't know if she'll want to see me or let anyone know I'm her dad. So just… lie low for me, please? I'm going to try and find her… rebuild with her if she wants to try."

A normal person would have been suspicious, but Ben nodded. "Okay," he agreed.

The coachman stopped the carriage. Deep bags were under his eyes and his hands still shook from the fear of having Maleficent pass him by. He'd taken them straight to the Westlands, not even pausing except for to feed the horses and close his eyes, and seemed rather eager to get inside this new barrier and to safety.

Ben got out and helped Belle down. Hades followed and then a very sick-looking Audrey stepped down with his help. Then, everyone gathered around to see what to do. Belle clung to his leg. No one seemed content to touch the barrier and even Ben didn't know if it was spelled to shock them back or anything. He got on top of the coachman's seat and peered through the thick green to see what was behind it. In the not-so-far distance, he could see a building. This building was made of grey cement and white stone and rose high up above the trees with a metal pole added to the top for extra height. A lookout tower. And though it was still a fair distance away, he could see no one on it.

"There's no one on the tower," Ben informed the group. "We'll have to chance touching the barrier or just wait for someone to-"

There was a sound like an asteroid falling and something slammed into the ground just inside the barrier. Dust was thrown up and pebbles ricocheted through the magic sphere, raining down on their group. Audrey shrieked and Belle yelled and began to cry. Through the settling dust, Ben saw two glowing green eyes.

He got off the coachman's seat.

The coachman was trembling, crouched behind one of the wheels. Audrey took Ben's arm and hid behind it. Without really meaning to, he brushed her off and stepped closer to the barrier.

The dust faded and he saw purple.

Mal's eyes were squinted into a glare as she dusted herself off and stepped up to the barrier, so close he could smell her. Leather and magic and - oh, he was drooling again. Even after all this time.

She was unfairly beautiful. Time had blessed her - she had curves that she hadn't had before and her skin was softer and more supple than before. Her hair was longer, falling down her back now in tiny natural curls and a darker purple than he remembered. He could see her personality had changed too. She no longer barked at them to explain why they were here or glowered at them with her presence. Instead, she glanced at the carriage, then focused on him.

His prepared words about what he was doing were suddenly lost. "Hey Mal," he murmured instead. His knees felt weak.

"Ben," Mal said in reply. "I saw you coming."

"I saw your perch," Ben replied. "You've upgraded."

Mal shifted her weight and sighed. "What is this, Ben? Are you coming for a visit? We don't need your help anymore."

Ben had to swallow - his mouth felt very dry. "I was… that's not why we came."

"Excuse me?" Audrey peeped up from behind Ben. Ben almost jumped out of his skin - he'd forgotten she was there. She came back up and slipped an arm through his before laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm very sorry… we don't mean to intrude but there's been an emergency. We could really use the Villain Kid's help."

Mal stared at Audrey like she couldn't comprehend her existence. Ben felt Audrey put her hand in his for support. She squeezed and he squeezed back. This didn't seem like one of her jealous ploys - she was just lost and confused.

Mal leaned to see behind Ben. She choked. "Hades?" she demanded, going pale.

Ben didn't see Hades's response. He was too busy focusing on Audrey's hand in his.

Belle stayed beside the wagon with the coachman, who'd started peeping out from behind the wheel, and continued crying. Ben slowly let go of Audrey's hand to go and pick up his sobbing eight-year-old. Mal recoiled upon seeing the child but was still sputtering over Hades's presence. "What is he - she's your-" she sputtered, trying to make sense of the questions she wanted to ask.

"Hades accidentally broke the barrier to the Isle of the Lost while trying to escape to see his daughter again," Ben explained. "Your mother escaped behind him. We need your help, Mal."

"My mother?" Mal demanded. Her eyes grew even wider. Audrey went stiff upon having the girl's identity revealed. She leaned back in fear.

"She attacked the palace," Ben explained softly, letting Belle ball her fists up in his shirt as she cried. "We escaped and we spent two days coming here. Please, Mal, we need help."

Audrey reached out and her hand passed through the barrier. She took Mal's hand. Mal looked almost afraid of the other woman. "Please, miss," Audrey begged Mal. "Talk with us. Let us explain everything. But please, don't shut us out here. Maleficent took the palace… my mother and his were probably next. We just need a little help before we'll be on our way again, and we won't bother you anymore."

If Ben were Mal, the last thing he'd want to do would be to see Audrey. To hear her. To know what she looked like. The fact he was holding Belle probably wasn't helping things. Mal looked like she was about to have an aneurysm. He chewed on his lip as he glanced back and forth between the two girls. Mal caught his eyes in one glance and it was as if he was frozen in time, watching his whole world fall apart.

Then Mal pulled her hand away from Audrey's and flicked her fingers. The barrier opened. Audrey lifted her hands to her cheeks as tears began to fall. "Thank you!" she cried, wiping pearlescent tears off of immediately-inflamed cheeks. Ben squeezed Belle closer as Mal stepped aside to clear a path for Audrey to walk in. She did, but stopped just inside the barrier and held her hand out for Ben. Without a lot of choices, Ben stepped close enough to take her hand as Hades entered the barrier. Mal let her eyes flit over the God of the Underworld. He examined her as well, looking a little deflated, before continuing up a path that Ben hadn't realized had appeared behind Mal. The coachman finally appeared from behind the wheel and with a "wait for me!", dashed up the path behind Hades to safety.

Ben stepped inside last. Belle squeezed his shirt even harder as they passed through the barrier and he kissed her head to reassure her. Mal watched every movement and then fell behind him and Audrey as they walked. He wanted to turn around - to say something. No words came to mind, but he listened to her every deep breath all the way up the path.

They walked in through Uma's sector. Ben could tell which one it was by the teal signs marking roads. The place seemed just as busy as when he'd first left, only nicer. They reached the city center, which was marked by a large pavilion, and Ben was able to examine the differences between the three parts. Uma's sector was paved with dirt and textured brown stones and was wider for carts to fit through. Her signs were teal and the buildings made of wood, metal, and even some glass. Evie's streets were paved with brick and were thinner - probably because the brick cost more. Flowers were planted on the wayside and her signs were blue. Brick houses and white stuccos buildings made up her houses. And in Mal's section, there were hard and durable black roads and purple directional signs. Her buildings were all decorated in shades of grey, light blue, and light green stucco with rock accents. The tallest, thinnest building that stood in the center was probably hers. It was the one he'd seen from the road.

"This is incredible," He murmured. "You turned things around."

Mal didn't meet his eyes. "About time you saw it," she mumbled. "It's all thanks to you."

"Mal!" Someone called from the left. Ben looked over and his face lit up to see Uma walking towards them. She'd chopped her hair short and it was curled with white and yellow highlights in it. She wore pants with fishlike scales up the sides and a light cotton shirt. She was marching over with purpose, but when she recognized Ben, she stopped in her tracks.

"Uma!" Ben exclaimed, letting go of Audrey's hand and going to hug her. Uma was stiff, staring past Ben towards Mal in shock. Still, she patted his back and returned the hug.

"Ben!" she squeaked, sounding more shocked than anything. "You're back! What happened?"

Ben saw Audrey fold her arms across her chest out of the corner of his eye. Oh, dear. Luckily, Mal stepped forward. "Trouble in Auradon," she informed Uma. "The King came to inform me that my mother paid him a visit."

"Maleficent?" Uma asked.

"The king?" Ben raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

Mal ignored Ben and focused on Uma. Given what she could be feeling at the moment, he couldn't blame her. "They've come to stay safe and get help. We're going to figure out what to do."

"Does he know…" Uma stuck a finger at Ben's cheek.

"Do I know-" Ben began to repeat the question, but Mal cut him off.

"We'll have to set up defenses. If you're not busy, you should go tell Carlos." Her eyes turned a little green and she shook her head a little at Uma. A secret then. Hopefully not anything bad. Uma started to back away. Ben grabbed her arm.

"Hang on," he requested. "You're one of the leaders. Let's get Evie and we four - five, actually, with Audrey - can discuss everything."

Uma chuckled uneasily. "Sorry, your majesty, but uh… I chose not to be part of leadership proceedings anymore. It took up too much time and I, well…" she held up her left hand. A ring sparkled on her fourth finger. "I decided I had different goals."

"You and Harry?" Ben asked with a smile. Uma nodded. "Congratulations! You didn't invite me to the wedding?"

"They didn't invite anyone," Mal explained, focusing on a point over Ben's shoulder, in Evie's sector. "They just moved in together and told everyone that they were married."

"Ah, I see," Ben nodded and then turned to gesture Audrey forward. "Uma, I believe you know about Audrey?"

Uma blinked slowly at Audrey, looked at Mal, looked down at Ben's hand where a new wedding band sat, silver and devoid of decoration, and then let out a long slow breath. Then, she stuck out a hand to Audrey. "Nice to meet you, your majesty," she bid with a tight, uncomfortable smile. "I'm Uma, daughter of Ursula."

Audrey looked paler than normal as she shook Uma's hand. Ben used the distraction to look over his shoulder and see what Mal was staring at. She'd started doing things with her eyes - glaring and flicking them as if she were trying to signal someone. Behind him, at the start of the red brick roads, was Jay. Jay's mouth was open as his eyes flit between Audrey, Ben, and Belle. When he realized Ben had seen him, he leaped away and took off in a sprint down the roads of Evie's sector.

"I, uh, got some places to be now," Uma said, backing away. "Gonna go find Carlos… be right back." And she spun around and took off in a speed-walk.

Something was up.

"Ben, what are we gonna do?" Audrey asked, pressing a hand to her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't… I can't walk anymore."

"Go sit at the pavilion," Mal nodded to the covered benches. "Take Ben and Belle with you. I need to… I need to run and check on something quickly. I'll bring water back… just take a seat.

Ben helped Audrey to the benches and set Belle down beside her. He watched Mal vanish down the black-paved streets and into the crowds of people. Then he took a seat beside his wife and daughter.

Audrey was pressing her hands to her ribs and taking deep breaths. "I… don't think I can do this, Ben," she whispered. "I left all my pain stuff at the palace when we left."

"Maybe Evie will have something," Ben whispered back. "She used to brew potions with her mom. She's another one of the leaders unless she bowed out too. He looked across the courtyard - their coachman had vanished, but Ben wasn't worried for him. He'd probably found a nice place to fall asleep or found someone to ask for help. Hades had vanished too… he was probably looking for his daughter.

"Ben," Audrey whispered, grinding her teeth at his side. "What are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna get help," Ben whispered. "Mal and Evie are going to help us. And when this is all over, we'll go back to the palace and everything will be the same."

Audrey keeled forward even more. "I can't… I hurt, Ben. I'm not the same as I used to be."

"You just need to use your muscles a little more and then-"

"Look at me, Ben!" Audrey exploded. "I can't run - I can barely walk! I've been sitting for two days and now it hurts to stand! I haven't been the same since Belle was born and no amount of exercise or fresh air will change that!" At her name, Belle looked up, unsure and afraid.

Ben pulled her away from Audrey and kissed her head. "Mom and dad need to talk for a moment," he whispered, then pointed to a group of small kids playing in the grass near Evie's area. "Go say hi to them. Ask them to play. Be dad's big, brave girl."

Belle nodded, wiped the last of her tears away, then turned and trudged away. Audrey looked tense - she didn't want her daughter to play with the villain kids but also knew things were about to get ugly. Ben put his hands together as she walked away. "I can't go back to the palace now," he told her. "But I'll try and keep you away as much as I can. But maybe this will be good. You've been wasting away for almost ten years… this will help you start building up strength."

"I don't need strength, Ben!" Audrey snapped. "My body is broken… you just want to believe you can fix everything with sunshine and fresh air and kindness, Ben. Well, you know what, you can't fix this by pushing on it more."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with you," Ben replied. "The doctors all say you need more exercise. You haven't done anything since she was born and you've been letting yourself waste away in that stupid spa…"

"The spa helped!" Audrey hissed. "At least I wasn't in pain all the time! You came home and began ripping everything out, stressing me out even more, and you wanted me to do all those new things-"

"Oh, you have to see Belle for at least five minutes every day, boo-hoo," Ben snapped back. He couldn't even find it in himself to be gentle or understanding. "She was a disaster and you know it. Our family was a disaster. We were dysfunctional."

Audrey balled her fists up. "It wasn't just…" she sputtered. "You made me move out of our room and you shut down my spa and then you kept butting into my time… don't put this all on me - it's your fault too!"

"Audrey, you had me set up appointments to see you!" Ben snapped. His voice was rising to a roar and people had glanced over. "I didn't get married in hopes my wife would want to see me every other year. You hadn't seen me in three months when I came back! Three months! I don't even know if you'd looked at Belle while I was gone - you kept shoving her off to the nanny! And sure, I was gone doing king stuff, but part of that is still your fault because you spent all your time in that stupid room pampering yourself instead of helping me rule. Shame on me for letting you."

"Of course I looked at Belle!" Audrey scowled. Tears were starting to pool in her eyes. "Of course I did! I'm her mother - don't you think I love her?"

"Hopefully not the way you love me," Ben scowled.

"Ben?" someone asked. Ben's head snapped to the right. His eyes were burning and the person who'd addressed him flinched back. It was Carlos. He stared at Ben, looked at Audrey, and then let out a long breath. "Oh… wow." It wasn't admiration. It was fear.

"Carlos," Ben took a deep breath and forced a smile. "We need your help. Mal said to ask you to set up defenses."

"You've seen Mal?" Carlos asked. His eyes flit back to Audrey.

"She let us in," Ben explained.

Carlos let out another breath.

"Is something wrong?" Ben asked.

Carlos began to back away again. "I-I'm sorry Ben. I'm just going to go and, uh, put some plans together for - for - yeah." He turned and sprinted away faster than Ben had seen him move before.

"Furthermore," Audrey huffed beside him, crossing her arms. "You haven't been absolutely amazing yourself. You load chores on Belle and work on me, force her to help you in your office, and-"

"Something's wrong," Ben cut her off. He was glancing around at the villain kids. Many of them he recognized. Many were staring at him, staring at Audrey, and looking sick. Many were whispering. Many were worried.

Could it be about how they were worried that he'd come back? Or who Audrey was?

"Ben-" Audrey started to call for him.

"I have to go find Mal - I'll be right back," Ben decided, turning and leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I swear I shouldn't be longer than five minutes… I need to ask her what's going on with everyone. Just stay here - Carlos will be back soon and Belle needs a supervisor."

"Mal?" Audrey blinked. "Will you be alone with her? Just stay here - she'll be back soon."

"And for the record," Ben held up his fingers as if plotting points on a line. "I never kicked you out of our room. I would have rather you stayed. I only said I was going to be back in the master room. You were the one who decided I wouldn't be able to keep my hands to myself and left, even though we're married. And Belle needed a parent in her life because she was turning into a tyrant - goodness knows you weren't going to step up. I put chores on Belle because they're good for her and the 'work' you have is filling out paperwork for the law. As queen, you're responsible for helping with it. I balanced it all for eight years, so you have no excuse." He ran a hand through his hair. "We'll talk more about this later - I need to find Mal."

"Ben!" Audrey struggled to her feet. Ben put a hand on the pavilion support pole and waited as she fumbled for the right words. "What about… what are we going to do? Where are we going to stay?"

"I'll ask Mal," Ben promised her. "If Evie happens to show up while I'm gone, ask her. She can help too." And he turned and left.

People stared and turned away wherever he went. Even little kids stopped to point at him with downcast and worried expressions. Whereas before, he would have been bombarded, now he was only uneasily regarded. He watched one mother press a panicked hand to her forehead as he passed.

He went into Mal's section, up to the long and thin building where he suspected she'd be. Her sector was kinda nice… it had grass and benches and kids sitting and playing on the grass. Ben smiled to see young mothers with new babies and continued walking towards the building. He was still far away, though in earshot, when the door opened and he stopped in his tracks.

Mal appeared, glancing around cautiously, and then locked the door behind her. In one hand was a water bottle with a handle. In one arm was a baby. A tiny little boy with blondish-brown hair who was dressed in purple. He was still small, looking around at the bright colors of the world as it moved, but old enough to hold his head up while Mal balanced him against her side.

How old was he? Not too old… Belle had been able to hold her head up at five months though she'd been a little late. This baby was also much bigger and probably older… he looked like he might be able to crawl and was clutching a rattle in his hand. Maybe about ten months old, then. Belle had been able to grab things by nine months, but not hold onto them until she was a little older. Ten months old and, counting backward, there were nine months in a gestation period and he had been gone for a little over nineteen months.

Uma appeared. She reached out for the baby. Mal handed him over. They exchanged whispers, anxious looks, and then Mal glanced in the direction of the pavilion. Her eyes landed on Ben before she'd even finished passing Uma the baby, presumably so Uma could care for him while Mal went back to the pavilion. He watched her mouth form the words "oh no". Uma looked up. Both girls stared at him from something like thirty feet away while Ben took in the sight.

A child dressed in purple with brown hair. His hair. A boy child. His son.

Ben ran a hand through his hair and turned away. Everyone's panicked and shocked expressions suddenly made sense, he thought as he wandered back to the pavilion. Belle rushed past with a group of kids, laughing and clutching Molly the Doll to her chest. She had a brother. He had a son.

Audrey stopped him when he got close enough. "Ben?" She asked. "Ben, what did she say?"

"Listen, Audrey," Ben took her hands, squeezed them, and closed his eyes. She would have to be told. He had to come clean. "Listen, honey, I don't want to talk right now, but I swear we'll work everything out soon. Everything will be okay." He released one hand to run it down her cheek.

"Wait, Ben!" Audrey frowned. "What's going on? What did she say? We still have things to figure out."

"Audrey, please, I need some time."

"Ben, I need at least a few answers! What are we going to do? Where are we going to stay? How are we going to feed Belle?"

Ben put a finger to her lips. His world felt very loud. All he could think about was the crushing guilt on his shoulders and the baby that he'd seen with Mal. His son.

"I need time," Ben whispered to Audrey, and then wandered past her, back out to the woods to think.

* * *

**To clarify, yes, Ben is in shock.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Chapter 3**

* * *

Audrey's marriage had been hanging by a thread since the year she'd married, and she knew it.

She wasn't sure why, but they'd never quite gotten it right, he and her. She'd figured that their lives were similar and they had similar goals and they were compatible, but then he liked books and learning and quiet and plain a lot more than she did. And people - he also liked people. She had never gotten used to seeing him surrounded by others.

She'd be the first to admit that she knew he was unhappy.

In hindsight, she hadn't meant to isolate him. It had only been after he'd started changing things that she'd realized what she'd accidentally done. Ben didn't talk to his mother or his daughter or even her because she was in too much pain to entertain him for long. They'd gone to a party after one of his long business trips, right after he'd fired Belle's last nanny, and that was when she'd realized. He hadn't talked to people in years. And it was because of her, and she didn't even talk to him on most days. Ben had lost year's worths of time that she hadn't even bothered trying to fill.

This last year and a half had been awful. He'd ripped everything apart and he'd been stubborn and yes, it was all small things at a time(aside from him throwing out everything from their rooms), but Audrey had been shocked by the change and had wondered what had caused it. Why was he suddenly so obsessed with browns and greens and indoor potted plants? What was so special about being outside? Why couldn't he close all the windows?

Now, it was looking like she hadn't known much about him at all.

Belle ran by and set Molly the doll down beside Audrey. "Mommy?" She asked, tugging on Audrey's hand a little. "There's a mommy with her baby over there. A real baby. Can I go see it?"

"Be gentle," Audrey nodded. She watched Belle turn and dash away. A woman with blue hair was walking up the path with her baby in arm. Belle and a group of other kids reached her and she bent down to show them the little one. Audrey tilted her head to the side as Belle cooed and waved.

"Belle would be such a good big sister," she thought. Once upon a time, Ben had wanted a large family. He'd talked about it with her once, long ago. But that had been before Belle and before they'd stopped living together. Now, Audrey didn't know what he wanted. She didn't even know what she wanted.

"Excuse me?" a voice came from above. Audrey looked up. The blue-haired woman had come closer. Her baby was gone - Audrey glanced behind her and spotted Belle sitting in the road, holding the child. The other kids gathered around to smile and take the baby's hand. "Are you lost?" she asked.

Audrey shifted uncomfortably. The woman was very beautiful and looked immaculate. She couldn't believe someone like this had come from the Isle of the Lost. She and Mal and Uma were all gorgeous. "Sort of," she agreed and wasn't surprised when her voice broke. "I'm waiting for my husband to come back. He's… a little stressed, so he went for a walk."

"Ah," the woman nodded, examining Audrey. Audrey shifted. She was in sweatpants and a patterned tee. Her bathrobe had been shed in the carriage, but she'd been wearing these clothes for two days. She took a seat on the table bench beside her and stuck out a hand. "I'm Evie."

"Oh?" Audrey asked. "You're one of the people in charge, then."

"Not anymore," Evie shook her head and smiled. "I decided to… take a family route. There's a boy who came from Auradon… he traveled out here and we've settled down. His name is Doug, and that's our daughter." She pointed over to the small child who Belle was still possessively cradling. "Mal is in charge now, mostly because she's the most powerful and she protects us. Sometimes she'll ask Uma and me for help, but I've been a bit busy with my baby."

"She's cute," Audrey nodded at the girl and sighed. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Audrey. Queen of Auradon."

Evie blinked and her eyes grew wide, though she didn't lose much composure. "Ben's wife?" she asked.

"Yes," Audrey pinched her lips together. She didn't like all these beautiful women knowing her husband and talking to him and… she took a deep breath. "You know about me?"

"Not much," Evie said in a gentle tone. "Just… things Ben mentioned about you."

"Evie!" Someone snapped from off to the side. Both girls turned around. Mal had reappeared with a water bottle that she held out to Audrey. She kicked a plant as she walked. "Where'd Ben go?" she demanded.

Evie blinked at Mal for several seconds as if she was seeing straight through her. Audrey took a drink and then answered. "I think he's just stressed," she said. "We had a small fight before he went off to find you… did he?"

Mal looked to the side. "I saw him, but then he walked off," she said slowly. "We need to figure out how we're going to help Auradon."

"What's happened?" Evie asked, rising to stand.

"My mother," Mal informed her. "The barrier was broken again."

"It was Hades," Audrey nodded, staring off into the distance. She could feel her mind beginning to blank out, but couldn't quite stop the gradual progression. "He broke it to come and find his daughter. Ben was going to send him over here, but then Maleficent showed up."

Evie fixed Mal with another look, but Audrey couldn't read it out of the corner of her eye. She was focusing on Belle and slipping farther away.

"What does he expect us to do?" Mal asked. Her voice sounded very far away. Audrey tilted her head. She had been spoken to. She should respond, shouldn't she? How should she respond? What was the question?

Belle looked so happy with that baby girl…

Oh, right. "Ben thinks you can stop her," she blurted out and turned back to the two girls. With a start, she realized they hadn't been where she thought they'd been. They'd moved, and were staring at her in confusion. Several minutes had passed by, and she had no idea what they were talking about now.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I… just tuned out. I meant… Ben thinks that Mal is powerful enough to go against Maleficent. He's hoping you'll help us." She leaned forward imploringly. Mal opened and closed her hands at her sides as she watched Audrey's pleading look.

Finally, she swallowed. "There are a few greater things at play here, Audrey," she said. "I don't know if Ben and I can work together very well."

Audrey's heart sank. "Well, give it a while, please?" she asked. "Let him ask you. He's better with words. Please, we need your help." It was the first time in a long time she'd encouraged the idea of someone speaking to Ben.

Mal shrugged and sat down on the table with her leg falling beside Audrey. "Let's wait here for him," she decided. "Evie, can you go find Uma? Tell her I might be a while?"

"Yeah," Evie nodded and headed off.

Audrey put her head in her hands. "Gods," she moaned, ignoring the pinch in between her ribs. "Where is he?"

Mal glanced over. She picked up a knife and a long stick that had appeared on the table while Audrey had been tuned out. Audrey jumped away. Mal shook her head. "I'm not going to hurt you," she mumbled. "It just helps me think."

Audrey slowly sat back down. "Are you making anything?" she asked.

Mal examined the tip of the stick. "No," she sighed. "I just… when I'm waiting, I feel like I'm in danger. So I try and find things like this to protect myself with. It's just… we call them Isle defects. We've all got them from when we left." She turned the stick over in her hands and began carving off the top. "So," she began in a soft tone. "What's it like being a queen?"

Audrey shrugged. She still felt like shying away from Mal's point. "It's… well, I'm not very good at it, I'm afraid. Ben's been doing most of the work for years."

Mal nodded. "He mentioned that when he was here," she informed Audrey. "How did you guys meet?"

"We grew up together," Audrey shrugged. "It was kinda common knowledge among our parents that we would grow up and get married. How about you?"

Mal made an amused snort in the back of her throat and looked up from her work. Audrey skimmed the horizon, checking for Belle running amongst the other kids, and then returned her gaze to Mal as the purple-haired girl started to speak. "I, uh, kidnapped him. On his way to Charmington, I thought he was coming to invade us. We got all the way to camp before we realized he was the king. Then when we were trying to figure out how to send him back without more people coming to kill us, he decided he wanted to stay."

Audrey paused, taking in the bizarre story. A great deal of resentment was felt for Mal having kidnapped Ben, but an even greater sadness filled her to consider he hadn't even felt to confide to her. Three days ago, she didn't even know that villain kids were in Auradon. "That sounds like him," she murmured. "You know… we used to joke in high school that if he were kidnapped and held for ransom, he'd end up making friends with the perpetrators and walking free. I didn't ever think it'd happen though."

"Well, as far as things go, I never thought I'd accidentally kidnap the King of Auradon and then have him rescue everyone."

"That's so bizarre to me!" Audrey complained. "I mean… he never told me he was gone. He never told me you guys were here. He first mentioned it to me when Hades showed up at the castle looking for his daughter. I just… he gets mad at me for not always talking to him but he's not entirely communicable either!"

Mal blinked on some of the larger words and Audrey felt her cheeks heat up. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't mean to go off on you like that."

Mal shrugged one arm. "It's whatever," she said, then hesitated. "Are you and he… okay?"

"We are," Audrey nodded, smoothing her palms out over her knees. "I made some mistakes early in our marriage, but we're fine."

Mal slid off the tabletop and sat down beside Audrey on the bench. "He… used to say things in passing," she murmured. "We met friends of his who were in the area once… Li Lonnie? She said you didn't like people talking to him and he said you hadn't talked to him much either."

Audrey slumped a little in guilt. She closed her eyes. "I… haven't been feeling well since Belle was born," she admitted. "I never really recovered from the birth. It wasn't a hard birth or anything, but I didn't recover from it. I went through a small addiction to the pain meds for about six months and when I started coming back to myself, Ben wanted me to take up a bunch of responsibilities and stuff. I got overwhelmed and started pawning things off. Belle went to a nanny, I pawned off my court responsibilities, and Ben took back some of - I mean - all of the work I was supposed to do as queen. I never really took it back up because I never started feeling better."

"And then you stopped talking to Ben?" Mal asked.

"I felt like he was trying to pressure me into stuff," Audrey explained. "He wanted me to do all these things - go hiking and dancing with him, play with Belle. He kept asking why I wouldn't share a room with him and I… kinda snapped at him after a while. It was a relief when he stopped asking things, and then I didn't notice we had stopped talking until a little over a year ago."

"You're the queen of Auradon," Mal said. "Isn't there a doctor or something you can see?"

"I saw doctors," Audrey agreed. "Back when I first started feeling the pain. They said it was just after-affects. They prescribed me minor painkillers and exercise. But it's so strange - I was always active when I was younger and I don't understand why everything changed so quickly." She huffed and pressed her fingertips to her forehead. "Ben… wants me to get over it. He's not even being subtle anymore."

"That's interesting," Mal hummed. "He seemed like a very understanding fellow."

"He is," Audrey agreed. "But he can be a bit bull-headed. He thinks he knows what's best for me and the world and everyone in it. He reads people pretty well and thinks that means he's entitled to give advice."

"I see that," Mal laughed. "I see that - one-hundred-percent."

Audrey laughed with Mal. Her ribs ached, but it felt good. She leaned back against the table and her arm brushed against Mal's. Mal looked over at her. "So," she began, "What is Ben's fix-all solution?"

"He wants me to walk two miles every day without painkillers and drink a gallon of water each day." Audrey rolled her eyes. "Belle had some stomach issues, so he made her stop eating lots of her favorite snacks and forced her to walk down to the bus stop a mile away each day. It worked for her, but it just makes me more tired and hurt. He thinks I'm overreacting because I don't want to do it. He thinks everything can be cured with sunshine and hard work."

"It always struck me as odd - how much work he wanted to do down here," Mal agreed. "Once, he wouldn't let me take down a tent with magic so he could do it without. He was pretty strong."

"He was." Audrey smiled. "He used to lift weights in high school and was on a few different teams. Tourney… Swords and Sheilds…"

"I have no idea what those are," Mal snorted.

"Me neither," Audrey shrugged. "I did cheer, so all I had to do was smile and jump around when a goal was scored. I know nothing else."

Mal laughed again and the sound sunk deep into Audrey's bones. It was so comforting to be still like this. To laugh with someone her age.

"I didn't expect you to be like this," Mal pondered aloud. "I admit, I've been wondering what happened to Ben when he went back and I figured he was just… shut in a room somewhere."

Audrey's smile faded and she flinched. "Yeah, I screwed up," she mumbled. "I need to make it up to him somehow, but…" She curled her fingers across her stomach. "How long ago did Ben leave?"

Mal's smile faded somewhat as the question left Audrey's lips. It appeared that the subject of Ben leaving the camp was an area of sadness for her. She swallowed. "Nineteen months ago, almost twenty," she shrugged.

"Ah," Audrey nodded. "Sorry, my mind has been foggy for a long time. That must have been… gosh, he had this trip that he was gone on and I remember when he got back he ripped out everything in my - his bedroom and repainted. Threw all the old furniture out and had Belle help him pick new stuff. And they did the same to her room and the living room and everywhere in the palace except for my room."

"He said he was going to go back and change things," Mal recalled. "He said he didn't like all the pink."

Audrey shook her head. "Everything is blue and brown now," she explained. "And he sleeps with the windows open. I think I get it now - he must miss being out here."

"Maybe," Mal agreed. Audrey eyed her with a narrow look.

"You're a lot easier to talk to than I thought you'd be," she said.

"Because I'm Maleficent's daughter?"

"That and you're a girl my age," Audrey twiddled her thumbs. "I haven't talked to other girls since I started dating Ben."

Mal shook her head. "More good women have been lost to marriage than to war," she mourned. "I don't understand it."

Audrey looked at the ground. That was interesting, she thought. Lost to marriage… lost in marriage. She was lost in her marriage, wasn't she? It was like she was fumbling around in the darkness, looking for what to do next… It didn't help that there wasn't any love between her and Ben still. More than ten years of marriage and nothing. He was as lost in this as she was. How were they going to get out of this trap?

It occurred to Audrey that the world felt very sluggish and dim. She'd fallen into another slump. Another dizzying, time-defying slump where she didn't know how long she'd be in it. She couldn't even close her eyes to wait for it to be done.

Audrey watched years fall off her life.

* * *

When she came to, Belle was crying at her legs and it was dark. She was still sitting on the bench, but she was alone and Mal was gone. Frost was creeping up her legs. A chilly fall breeze blew her hair over her head.

"Belle?" Audrey mumbled, then reached down to feel her daughter's icy skin. Belle jumped with a start and then began to cry even harder as she wrapped her arms around Audrey's legs.

"Mommy! Mommy!" She hiccuped and hid her face away. "I want to go home! I want to go home!"

Audrey tried to pry Belle's arms off of her legs but to no avail. She wasn't strong enough. Belle was in hysterics. How long had she been trying to get Audrey's attention? Where was Ben?

"We can't go home yet," Audrey murmured, running a hand down her daughter's icy cheek. "But we need to find a place to stay. Do you know where Mal went?"

"I'm here," Someone called through the darkness. Audrey turned and saw the purple-haired leader approaching from the direction of the giant building. "It's good to see you're back."

"Sorry," Audrey breathed, finally managing to gather Belle into her arms with a huff. Belle squeezed her ribs and tears swelled in Audrey's eyes. "Mal? Has Ben been seen anywhere yet? He went looking for you earlier, did you see him?"

Mal twisted her hands. "I saw him," she nodded. "But he walked away and I didn't see where he went."

Audrey sighed and squeezed Belle tightly. "I… hate to intrude, but I need a place I can put her for the night. Do you know one? I… don't want my baby to sleep on the ground."

Mal looked at Belle. Her hands crept to her pockets. When she swallowed, she looked like she was in some sort of pain. Did she want children? Or maybe, on the Isle, something had happened to give her some compassion. Either way, Mal cleared her throat. "It's, uh, late," she said. "Everyone turned in around when the sun went down. We don't like wasting candles and haven't gotten lights here yet. And most of these places are small… I don't know where we could put you."

Audrey's throat swelled up. "She squeezed Belle tighter. "Is there any place I could-"

"There's mine," Mal offered. She turned and nodded in the direction she'd come from. "I was kinda made to be the place where we could have a traveler or two stay, but… you might not want to stay with me."

"Actually, I would love that," Audrey sighed and closed her eyes in relief. "It doesn't matter if you have a bed or not. Just so long as I can lay her down for the night-"

"There are beds," Mal assured her. "And rooms. You can stay as long as you need. Her and you and-" Mal's voice cracked. "-Ben."

A few tears ran unbidden down Audrey's cheeks. She wiped them away. "Thank you," she hiccuped.

"Hang on," Mal held up her hands, biting her lower lip. "I… you're not the only ones there. I have a son - he's still a bit young and wakes up in the night. That may bother you."

"No, not at all," Audrey shook her head. "I remember what that was like. And we recently discovered that Belle loves babies anyways. If you need help, she'd probably love to help you with him." Audrey kissed Belle's hair. "But maybe when she's more awake."

Mal chuckled and watched again as Audrey cradled her little girl. She swallowed as if to get a lump out of her throat. "Well, you're welcome to stay. I mean… I can't imagine trying to lay my son out here. I was coming back to see if I could pull her away from you when I heard you were up. I had to leave to go and nurse and everything."

"I get it," Audrey smiled. "I was there once, too." She reached out to take Mal's hand and squeeze it. "Thank you for thinking of her."

"Of course." Mal gave her a tight little smile. Audrey assumed she was still worried about her son disrupting them. "Why don't we go lay her down, and then come back and see if Ben will show. If he doesn't, then it won't be the first time he's slept out on the ground outside."

Audrey laughed and began to follow Mal's lead back through the little village. It amazed her how different the three parts were. And the house plots seemed to be circular with curving paths and diamond-shaped intersections. Beautiful.

Mal lived in the towering building that Audrey had seen before coming into the barrier. Ben had called it 'the lookout'. The name suited the building.

"This house is so tall," Audrey marveled.

Mal shrugged. "I like to be high up," she replied.

She guided Audrey up a floor to the first room and opened a door to reveal a bed for travelers with a simple desk and a chest at the foot of the bed. Think hides covered a mattress of some sort. Audrey pulled back a few covers and Belle began to unlatch her frozen fingers from around her mom's neck. Her poor little digits were discolored with cold. Audrey kissed each one of them with Mal standing in the doorway watching and then helped Belle remove her shoes and lay down onto the pillow.

"Is dad gonna come read with me?" Belle asked. Her voice cracked a little - she'd been crying out in the cold and it was catching up with her.

"Not tonight, darling. We're going to go try and find him," Audrey whispered. "You can yell at him for not being here in the morning."

"I'll take you up on that," Mal whispered as a joke from the doorway. Audrey chuckled, but Belle was already asleep, too tired to understand the joke.

They walked back down to the pavilion. Audrey glanced up at the tall house as they left. "How could you possibly climb all those steps to the top?" she wondered. Her legs were screaming after only the one flight.

"I fly," Mal shrugged. "That's how I got to the edge of the barrier today, remember?"

Mal somehow procured two water bottles for both of them and they sat back down at the tables to see if Ben would reappear. "Thank you for helping me," Audrey murmured. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"I get it," Mal shrugged. "I used to sleep on the ground when my mom kicked me out of the house when I was younger. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"She kicked you out?" Audrey frowned. "How awful."

"It was only for a few nights at a time," Mal shrugged. "And I was very young. She stopped doing it when I got older."

Audrey shook her head. She couldn't imagine it. "Well, I'm so sorry. Thank you for understanding, though. And again, for helping us."

Mal took a drink of her water and focused her gaze on the wood grains in the table. She traced one with her fingertip. "I wouldn't leave you with nowhere to go," she mumbled.

"You're like Ben," Audrey laughed. "Except you don't run off, apparently."

"Oh, no," Mal shook her head. "I do." She went stiff as if she were trying to figure out something to say. After several seconds of silence, Audrey tried again to make conversation.

"You know, it's nice to talk to someone after all these years," she marveled. "Maybe we could be friends."

At this, Mal flinched away and shut her eyes. "I would like that," she said. "But maybe you should talk to Ben first. I'm not sure if you'll think the same way when he comes back. Furthermore, I'll understand if you both don't feel comfortable being in my house at all. Just know that the three of you… well, my door is always open."

"I don't understand," Audrey said with a frown. "Did you two have a falling-out? You seemed like friends earlier."

Mal swallowed. "It's complicated," she mumbled.

"I get that," Audrey shrugged. "I mean, I bet my problems are different than yours, but I understand when things don't just _work."_

Mal nodded along to Audrey's words. As she did, there was the sound of someone stumbling. Both girls looked up and Audrey was relieved to see a familiar shape walking towards the pavilion. It was Ben, looking half-drunk and overwhelmed. "Ben!" Audrey called, slowly getting to her feet. Ben looked up and his spirits seemed to drop when he saw both Mal and Audrey sitting beside each other. Still, he wandered over.

Audrey hugged him. He hugged her back, but softly. Audrey could feel that he was staring at Mal. She withdrew and took in his gaze. He looked defeated.

"Where's Belle?" He asked in a dry, sandpapery tone. Mal held out her water to him without comment. He took it, and Audrey sensed a correlation she didn't understand.

"She's asleep," Audrey explained. "Mal offered to let us stay in her home. There are beds there - we can rest and work everything out with Maleficent in the morning. We've been waiting for you to get back so we can tell you - you're welcome to stay there, she says."

Ben took a step back and shook his head. "No," he declined. "Thank you, but… considering the circumstance… I shouldn't be staying under the same roof as you, Mal." Mal nodded glumly.

"Circumstance?" Audrey echoed.

Ben fixed his gaze on the purple-haired fairy. "We need to talk," he muttered."

Mal nodded again. She seemed resigned.

Ben sat down across from Mal and Audrey sat beside him, slightly at an angle from Mal. Mal closed her eyes to brace for the coming conversation. Audrey found Ben's cold hand beneath the table and clenched it against her knee. Ben took three deep breaths. Then, he asked: "Why didn't you come to tell me?'

"Because it would have defeated the idea of you not ever knowing," Mal responded blandly. "I didn't want to… ruin everything."

Audrey looked between the two in confusion. She wanted to ask questions and didn't know where to start. Ben's eyes were filling with stubborn tears. He jabbed his index finger into the wood of the table as he spoke. "_He is mine too, Mal._ How could you have kept this from me? I could have helped you. I should have helped you. It's a responsibility to…" He tried off, struggling to get the words out of his mouth. Mal opened her eyes and looked through her bangs at Audrey. There was pain in her eyes. She slowly rose to her feet.

"Sit down," Ben commanded.

"Ben, look at Audrey. She's-"

"_Sit down."_

"No." Mal's eyes alit with glowing green power that looked like the smoke that had filled the palace. Audrey leaned away in shock. "Look at her. She's confused and doesn't know what's going on. You sinned, I sinned, whoop-do-doo. And yeah, I kept it from you. But can you at least not yell at me in a setting where she's going to have all the little pieces click together and hurt her even more? We screwed up. Just… spare her feelings." She shoved her hands into her pockets. "I'm going to walk around and I'll come back when you're ready for me. You need to talk to your wife, Ben."

She turned and walked away. Ben watched her go and didn't call for her back. Then he stood up and sat on the other side of the table, where he dropped his gaze to the wood grains and continued squeezing her hand in a vice-grip above the table. Audrey's skin felt chill. "Sinned?" she prodded.

Ben nodded. "Sinned," he affirmed. "Listen, Audrey, there's something… I need to tell you about this." He took a deep breath. "When I came to the Vk's and I met Mal, she wasn't like anyone I had met before. And she was confused by how kind I was to her despite the… circumstances we met in."

"She kidnapped you," Audrey supplied.

"Yes," Ben agreed. He closed his eyes. "And despite that, we shared something very intense right from the start."

Audrey's blood ran chill. "What?" she demanded, latching onto Ben's hand as if it were suddenly going to be pulled away from her forever. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't talk about you at first," Ben muttered. "But when I realized she was interested in me, I came clean. She backed off, but we were still… close. The night we arrived here-" he gestured around at the place they were sitting in the middle of, "-there was a celebration. I took a drink that was too strong for me without realizing and she did the same. And we slept with each other on the side of the river that night."

A bullet of betrayal whizzed through her. She started to cry. "Ben, I can't believe you!" She shouted. "Are you serious right now?" Her eyes were on fire as her hand shook. Ben squeezed it tighter. She squeezed back. How could this have happened? She couldn't believe it. Ben was supposed to be faithful and perfect… yet now all her worst nightmares were coming to life. She'd spent so long being terrified of being overlooked and tossed aside but now Ben had cheated and all those old fears were true. She wasn't good enough for him. She wasn't good enough for anyone, really. If Ben wouldn't stay faithful for her, would anyone?

Ben didn't say anything as she cried. She supposed he must be upset that his secret had come out. Or that he'd had to come clean.

"What did I do wrong?" Audrey blubbered and then mentally kicked herself for the question. She knew exactly what she'd done wrong. "No, wait, I mean… I just… why wasn't I enough?"

But really, she didn't want that question answered either. Ben bowed his head in shame. "We broke it off almost immediately after," he mumbled. "I chose to go back to Auradon. I wanted to make things work with you. She wanted to stay here and build things up. We agreed it wouldn't happen again and we separated."

That didn't help. It didn't help at all. Audrey wrestled her hand away from Ben and covered her face to continue crying as her eyes grew puffy and her skin sallow. He clasped his hands on the tabletop and waited until she tried holding in her sobs to hear what else he had to say.

"Today, when I was going to find her, I saw her pass a baby off to Uma," he murmured. "That's why I walked off. Because I realized…" He looked skyward. More tears were brimming in his eyes. "She had a son… and that son was mine. And I needed to process that."

"A son," Audrey gasped and wiped her eyes. "You have a son."

"Belle's brother," Ben nodded and agreed. He unclasped his hands to cover his face with them, rubbing on his tired eyes as he tried to keep from looking straight at Audrey. "I don't know his name… Mal and I haven't talked about it, but everyone else here knows she has a son and I'm sure word has gotten around since everyone could tell we had… connected."

"How could you have done this to me?" Audrey sobbed. "I just… why did you leave me? Why didn't you leave her sooner? Ben, I trusted you."

"No, you didn't," he said softly. "But you should have, and I should have acted differently regardless of how much you trusted me. I thought I would be strong enough to resist and I felt responsible for these people. That's why I didn't leave."

"And?" Audrey sniffled.

Ben swallowed. "And I didn't want to go back," he muttered. "I… life was awful, Audrey. I liked being out here because I was useful. I had a purpose. I didn't want to go home and be… shut up all the time." He drummed his fingers on the table. "I'm sorry. I tried to fix things though. I knew I messed up and I was hoping I could come back and make things better with you and move on. I didn't expect that she would-" he waved a hand off in the distance.

"What are we going to do?" Audrey hiccuped. Ben didn't say anything. That could mean one of two things. Either he didn't know or he had already thought it out and knew she wouldn't like the answer. Audrey looked up. "Ben?" she asked.

Ben turned his head. "Auradon's bill of inheritance, clause three," he mumbled.

Audrey's head spun. "What?" she asked.

Ben shook his head. "Clause three of the bill of inheritance states that male children have priority over female children. Eons old. We never changed it. Most people only have one child. And back after Belle was born, we ratified a bill that Corona and Arendelle proposed that said heir children can ascend the throne regardless of matrimonial bonds. That means both statements are being upheld by Auradon law."

Audrey felt her mouth fall open a little bit more. In her sleep-deprived and overwhelmed brain, none of those words were making any sense. Ben swallowed and rephrased them. "That means Belle isn't the primary heir to the throne anymore," he explained. "If Mal and I's son chooses to relinquish his right after age fourteen, she'll be the primary heir again. She'll be twenty-one at the minimum. But if he decides to keep his right to the throne, she'll never have the option of becoming queen. Even if I changed the law, because it was the law when he was born, his place in line wouldn't be moved."

"You've ruined her life."

Audrey annunciated every word as she spoke them. And she was sure of her conviction, too. If Ben had cheated, then fine. If there was another child, she'd somehow find a way to live with them, she was sure. But now Belle had been unfairly tossed aside as if her life didn't even matter and her spot was being filled with an accident child and the grandson of Maleficent and…

How could Ben have been so careless? How could life have been so cruel?

Ben looked down at his hands and rolled his ring - which was normal now, not the blue she'd picked out years ago - around his finger. "He'll need to be trained," he muttered. "Probably when he's a bit older. It's the same stuff I've been doing with Belle for the last few months. And he'll probably live in the palace while that happens but I don't know if he'd spend the rest of his time out here. Last I checked, Mal wanted to stay here and protect everyone. He'll need to be with his mother just like Belle needs to be with you."

"And you?" Audrey asked. "What about you? What about us?"

Ben made a motion with his hand as if he were going to reach for her but then thought better of it. "I made my decision to stay, Audrey. Yes, I made a mistake, but I wanted to correct that and stay faithful to you. And I'm sorry to have dragged Mal into a mess with me and you, but I can't abandon her now. I'm going to have to find a way to balance raising my son with her and our daughter with you. The baby… he didn't do anything wrong. I know how painful this must be for you and I don't expect you to like him much, but he still deserves to know me and Mal deserves my help. But I won't leave you, either. We made commitments, remember?"

"And a fat lot of good those did," Audrey hiccuped. She felt like throwing up. "I knew this would happen. I always knew. I knew I wouldn't be enough and that-"

"Audrey, please stop," Ben murmured. "You would have been enough if you had ever loved me. And even then, I stayed with you all these years. Even when you chased away everyone I know and took away almost all the things I loved. Even when I had to fight you for the right to see my mom. I made the mistake and I'll take that responsibility, but you shouldn't act like you were doing everything perfectly in our relationship." He drew a finger down the center of the table. "If you don't want to see me, I'll understand. And I hope you'll understand why I think I shouldn't stay in Mal's home. At least not now, while we're figuring all this out. But I think you should - you should get some rest and be somewhere warm."

"What does it matter?" Audrey wiped more tears away. "It's done. You cheated on me. Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"That's why I'm not staying in Mal's house," Ben agreed.

"You'd go back to her?" Audrey demanded. "Is that what you're saying?"

"No," Ben denied, though Audrey could hear the strain and the pondering in his tone. "I told you. I'm staying with you. I promised I would."

Audrey squeezed her eyes shut and then used the table as leverage to get to her feet. Ben got to his feet, but she waved him off. "Don't!" She snapped. "I don't want your help Ben - I don't want anything to do with you right now!" She was going to leave him out in the cold and go back to Mal's house to curl up with Belle and cry until her soul hurt less than her body. And as much as it would suck to struggle back to the building alone and climb those bloody stairs without help, it would suck a lot more to have him help her.

"Audrey, I really am sorry-"

"I don't want your apology!" She screamed. "Gods, Ben, I'm hurt! I don't understand and I'm hurt! Leave me alone - I don't want to see you!" She raised her hand to smack him but all the strength left her arm with the sudden movement. Instead, she turned and focused on breathing with her broken ribs as she walked away as fast as she could. He could have followed her, but he didn't. Part of Audrey was glad - she didn't want to see him and probably wouldn't want to see him for a long time. The other part wondered… if she had purple hair, would he follow her?


	40. Westward Eastbound Part 2

**Chapter 4: Chapter 4**

* * *

He would have given up his entire kingdom to have been spontaneously murdered right then and there.

Was there anyone angry enough in Auradon to kill him right now? Maybe Maleficent, but that seemed a bit dramatic. Still, Ben would have given anything for someone to have driven a bullet through his skull right then.

He'd ruined his life. He'd ruined Belle's life. He'd ruined Mal's life. He'd ruined Audrey's life. He'd even ruined his son's life, whatever his name was, and he hadn't even met the kid yet.

Ben dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his tired eyes. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He'd formed a tentative list while he'd been away, sitting in the tiny hidden area by the river where he'd woken up without Mal beside him. First, he needed to talk to Audrey. That had been done. Then, he still needed to work things out with Mal, and lastly beg for her help still. After all, Maleficent was still out there.

The table slumped dramatically in front of him and then returned to a stable posture as someone sat down. Ben glanced through his fingers, glimpsed purple, and then looked up, leaning away even though he really wanted to lean forward. "You're back," he murmured.

"I made sure Audrey got inside okay," Mal offered by way of explanation. "She looked pretty… beat up."

Ben nodded. "Yeah. She didn't deserve that."

"You know, she's not as bad as I made her out to be in my head," Mal sighed. "Especially when it comes to Belle… I relate to her."

"You," Ben repeated, "Relate to the daughter of Aurora. Okay."

Mal snorted. "Crazy," she agreed. Ben watched her pick at her nails.

"How soon did you find out?" He asked.

"Find out about what?" Mal raised an eyebrow at him. "Who Audrey was? It was pretty obvious from-"

"The baby," Ben interrupted. "Our son."

Mal's expression fell. She stopped picking at her cuticles and instead traced the wood grains in the table with the tip of her nail. "Not long after you left," she recalled. "I mean… we were a little busy building everything, but I don't get sick ever so when the nausea started hitting, it didn't take long for me to link it."

"A month?" Ben asked. "Maybe two?"

"Maybe right in the middle," Mal agreed.

"You should have come to the palace," Ben chided her. "No - don't give me that look. You should have. I would have taken care of you, and-"

"Listen, Ben, I appreciate the gesture, but I think you're missing the big picture here." Mal set her finger on a random spot in the table. "You left. You chose to go back to Audrey and I supported you because that was where you belonged and this is where I belonged. Protecting my people. And so finding out I was pregnant… yeah, that sucked, but it didn't change those decisions. Who am I to show up on the palace doorstep with a new baby and drop that responsibility on you?"

"I think you're missing the point," Ben gritted his teeth. "He's my son too. My responsibility regardless of what I decided. I'm the reason he happened to you and you should have held me accountable for that mistake from the beginning. I should have had the opportunity to at least help you out with him."

"He's not a mistake to me," Mal glared at him.

Ben reeled. "I… didn't mean it like that," he corrected himself.

"No, you only meant it as in 'I regret this'," Mal snapped. "You don't even want him, Ben. Why are you trying to argue that-"

"I do want him!" Ben protested. "With every fiber of my being, I do. I mean… you remember me with all the kids here. I love them. And I only have - had - one. To know I have a son is kind of a miracle despite-"

"You don't even know his name," Mal cut him off.

Ben blinked up at her. He sighed. "Not to make a tense situation humorous, but I hope you named him something better than Bertha or Florian."

The corner of Mal's mouth twitched up. "I don't know if I want you to know," she murmured. "Isn't there some sort of Auradon roll you need to put him on?"

"Yes," Ben thought, but didn't say anything aloud. Mal exhaled. "Xavier James," she said. "We named him Xavier James."

"Prince Xavier James Adams," Ben thought, leaning back even more. "Wow," he whispered. "That's a good name."

"Evie picked it," Mal nodded, brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear. "I didn't quite trust myself. She wanted Xavier John, actually."

Ben nodded and brushed a bit of nothing off the tabletop. "When can I meet him?" he whispered.

Mal looked a little startled. "You want to?" she asked. Ben nodded. She crossed her arms. "Well… you can't take him with you," she said. "I want you to know that right off the bat. I want him here with me."

That was going to be a problem. Ben chewed on his lip. "Technically, he's next in line for the throne now."

"I know."

Ben looked up at her. Her eyes were stormy now as she crossed her arms even tighter. "That's why you didn't come to tell me," he whispered.

"Well, look what it did," Mal scoffed. "You've yanked Audrey and Belle into this full-force."

"If you had come to me right off the bat, we could have changed the law before he was born," Ben snapped a little before forcing himself to calm down. "And as it was, the moment we'd tried to put the crown on Belle's head, it would have rejected her. Then we would have figured out, one way or another, that there was another heir out here."

"I didn't know that," Mal murmured, looking crestfallen and guilty as she put her chin atop her hands. "I don't suppose… there's no way for her to now-"

"Belle can't get the throne until he releases it and he has to be fourteen to do so," Ben explained. "So she won't be able to be crowned queen at sixteen no matter what. And if he - Xavier - decides to keep it, then I'll need to train him. That training will have to be done at the palace."

"My place is out here, Ben," Mal reminded him. "Auradon doesn't know I exist, remember?"

"Irregardless," Ben shrugged. "He's set to be the next King of Auradon." He drummed his fingers on the table and sighed.

"I guess… I screwed up then," Mal sighed. "I didn't realize. Sorry."

Ben shook his head. "The problem wouldn't have existed if I hadn't… If I'd had a bit more self-control."

"Way to cut me and my feelings out of the problem, Ben," Mal reprimanded. He blinked at her easy and somewhat careless tone. She blinked at him, waiting for a response. Not yelling, not snapping, only waiting.

"You've changed," he muttered. "You would have yelled that at me before I left."

"I had a baby," Mal shrugged. "That tends to teach you lots of patience really fast."

Ben snorted. "I guess if you're taking care of them," he rolled his eyes.

"Don't shoot Audrey in the foot like that," Mal chided. "She's struggled more than you know. You just haven't listened to her."

Ben almost fell off his chair. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "I listen to her whenever she wants to talk to me - she just doesn't."

"Because you haven't listened and she's stressed."

"What? About me closing the spa?"

Mal stared at Ben and then shook her head slowly. An odd expression came across her face, like he was fond of him but still thought what he was doing was silly. "Nevermind," she mumbled. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep at my house? I have a couple of extra bedrooms… "

"No," Ben shook his head. "I - thank you, Mal, but I… I still pick Audrey." His voice cracked and broke on the end of his sentence and he almost choked. "I wish… I could but I think we both know what would happen if I stayed there. Especially since Audrey and I still aren't sharing a room."

Mal nodded and reached across the table. Ben flinched back, but she only set her hand atop his and squeezed. God, her hands had so much strength in them. When she pulled back, his hand followed hers a few inches. "I understand, Ben," she murmured. "More than you think I do." When he looked into her eyes, there was nothing but clarity there. Some sort of demented peace.

Mal got up. "You ought to get some rest. It's late, and Audrey will need your help with Belle tomorrow."

"Wait," Ben got up too - so fast he banged his knee into the table. "Xavier - I want to see him. Can I?"

"Oh," Mal blinked. She glanced back in the direction of the tower and her eyes lit up a little. "He's already asleep. I can't fly him down without waking him up and it's probably a bit too cold for him to be out. Do you want to wait until morning?"

"No," Ben stepped out over the bench. "Please, can we go up?"

"Alone?" Mal asked. "With me?"

A lump formed in Ben's throat and he felt his face go crestfallen. Sure, they were fine here aside from the fact Ben was aching to lean forward and touch all of that smooth skin and trace every strength-filled muscle on her, but behind closed doors it would be so easy… he could lean forward and accidentally brush her wrist… she could trip and stay on him for a second too long… And he knew how easy it would be to fall.

He sat back down. "I guess maybe we should wait," he muttered.

"I'll bring him down in the morning," Mal agreed. "And, uh, there are blankets and some spare cots in the storehouse here." She pointed to a portion of the pavillion that was walled away. With a flick of her hand, the lock clicked open on the door. "I'll leave my door open if you need it. Belle is on the second floor and Audrey took the third. Just… don't freeze to death out here. We'll find a place for you in the morning."

"I'm fine with being outside," Ben shook his head. "I've missed it."

"So Audrey said," Mal nodded.

She turned and as she did, large purple and feathered wings appeared on her back. Ben watched without much reaction. He hadn't known she had wings, but wasn't surprised to learn.

Mal took off and Ben was finally left alone underneath an unwavering electric light above his head. He realized, now that she was gone, that he'd forgotten to ask Mal about everyone else and how much they knew.

* * *

Ben woke up to Hades nudging him. "What're you doing out here?" he asked.

With all the crazy that had happened, it took a few seconds for Ben to remember how he could be talking to the God of the Underworld, much less answer his question. "I wanted to be outside again." he shrugged and stood up. "How are you?" he asked. "Did you find your daughter?"

"I did," Hades nodded, giving a little sigh. "She was a bit too busy to talk though, so I haven't said anything yet. Apparently I'm a grandfather now."

"Really?" Ben let a smile cross his face. It felt odd to smile after yesterday. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah," Hades nodded. "I don't know who her partner is yet. I'll have to scare the tar out of them when I meet them."

"Ah, don't be too rough on them," Ben chuckled. He climbed out of the sleeping bag he'd assembled and began to fold up everything to put back into the storehouse. It was still very early. People were wandering around outside their homes, but no one had seemed to spot them yet. "Has anyone come around?" he asked.

"A white-haired boy," Hades nodded. "But that was as I was walking up. He went that way." Hades pointed in a general direction, but Ben didn't follow his finger.

"Probably Carlos," he nodded.

As he finished folding up the blankets, someone slung an arm around his head. For a moment, he panicked, but then he heard frenzied giggling. Not from a child, but from a man. "Hey, Harry," he said.

"Oh, if'n it isn't our wee king. Back for another round?" Harry released Ben and dropped down on the pavement beside him. "I don't s'ppose you've heard… you got yourself into a world of trouble."

"I've heard," Ben cut him off shortly. "And it's already been worked out. Thank you for your concern."

Harry's laughter grew even thicker. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then someone behind Ben said: "Harry, quit." Ben glanced behind him. It was Evie, and she was holding hands with someone familiar.

"Doug?" Ben asked, getting to his feet. Doug a little salute. "What are you doing here?"

"I… uh…" Doug held up his and Evie's hands awkwardly. "We're together! I'm with her."

"That's great, Doug," Ben smiled even though a pain had erupted in his chest. "I'm happy for you."

"Yeah," Doug nodded. "We've been married for almost a year and we have our daughter asleep at the house."

Another pain. Ben kept his smile. "That's great," he smiled.

Evie reached forward to brush off his arm. "Carlos said you were sleeping on the ground," she murmured. "Did Mal talk to you about-"

"I chose to sleep out here," Ben assured her. "I missed the outside. And yes, Mal and I talked."

"We came to invite you two for breakfast," Evie said, glancing between him and Hades. "I don't think I've been given the rundown, yet. Was Hades released from the Isle?"

"Discharged," Ben said before Hades could tack on anything else. "However, we have Maleficent in Auradon now. We need Mal's help."

"Ah," Evie glanced towards the towering building. "Will your wife and daughter need a place to eat too?" she asked. "I made lots, just in case."

"I don't know if they're awake yet," Ben said. Maybe I should - oh, there's Belle."

Down the path, Belle was holding tightly onto her doll Molly with one hand and holding Uma's hand in the other. She jumped over blades of grass on the pavement as she went. Evie chuckled as she looked up and waved with broad gestures to her dad.

"Found this one wandering," Uma called, releasing Belle to run to Ben when they were close enough. Ben bent down and Belle rushed straight into his arms with a shout. "You shouldn't leave kids alone, Ben."

"Ah, this one's smart enough," Ben teased, flicking Belle on the nose. "Did you sleep well?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she shrugged one shoulder.

"Do you know where Mom is?" he asked.

"No," Belle said. "I think she's still sleepy."

"Let's go get breakfast," Evie suggested, holding out her free hand to Belle. "You can play with my baby after you eat, if you want."

Belle immediately left Ben and took Evie's hand. The three began to walk away and Ben got the impression he and Hades were meant to follow. They waved goodbye to Harry and Uma as the sea duo began to head back into Uma's sector.

Evie's house had blue tiling on the roof and a beautiful whitewash on the exterior walls. Her flowerbeds were looking a bit sparse with the seasons, but her home was still lovely. Evie led Belle right up to the door and let her wander in. Belle slipped off her shoes at the entrance. "Your house is so pretty!" she marveled.

"Thank you," Evie smiled. "We have breakfast in here - come and get some."

Breakfast turned out to be burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, peppers and cheese. Ben recognized a lot of Auradon items in Evie's household that the VK's now had access to. Evie served up Belle a large portion onto a china plate that Belle balanced carefully to a large table with a figurine in the center. Molly the Doll was placed in the chair beside her with a little food set on a napkin in front of her.

"So, you did talk to Mal?" Evie asked, handing Ben a plate.

"Yes," Ben nodded. "We've… got a few things figured out, but it'll take time."

"I thought there wasn't anything going on with you two?" Doug asked, pulling a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge. "What happened?"

"We got drunk," Ben replied.

Hades gave them all an odd look. "What?" he asked.

The front door opened, interrupting them all. Down the hall, Ben heard Mal yell "Evie? You home?"

"Kitchen!" Evie called, picking up a new plate and handing it to Hades. She picked up a new one for Mal, who appeared in the doorway. Her eyes zeroed in on Hades before flitting momentarily to Ben. Her lips pinched.

"Good morning," Hades said softly.

"Good morning," Mal replied in a tart tone. She stepped further inside and Ben almost dropped his plate to see her cradling a bundle to her ribs.

"Is that him?" he asked, siding his breakfast onto the table beside Belle and then crossing the room to Mal. He made to put a hand in the small of her back and then reminded himself otherwise and put it on her shoulder instead.

"This is Xavier," Mal nodded and then carefully loosened the bundles that had kept the baby warm during the trip to Evie's home. The moment she began to take away the blankets, Xavier began to squirm. Hades hovered over Ben's shoulder a little to watch as Xavier wrestled one arm free and gave a little cry of outrage. Mal put the extra blankets over her shoulder and then passed Xavier to Ben with both hands.

Tears formed in Ben's eyes. He leaned against the wall as Xavier clutched at the last remaining blanket with a clenched fist and examined Ben carefully. They looked alike. Xavier had his darker eyes and his tanner skin. His hair too, though his face more closely resembled Mal's. And despite being older, he was smaller than he should be. Ben would probably have a short son.

"Go sit down," Mal urged. "I don't want you to drop him."

Ben sniffed and used the back of his hand to wipe away tears before he took a few steps away, used his foot to draw out a chair, and sat down with the baby in his lap. Xavier pulled himself up to sit and looked all around at the room. Beside Ben, Belle squealed and leaned over with grabby hands to wave at Xavier. "Hi Xavier!" she cheered.

Mal set a careful hand on Ben's shoulder. "What do you think?" she mumbled.

"He is so small," Ben sniffed. "Just… wow." He wiped another tear away.

"Do other people around here have babies?" Belle asked.

"A couple," Evie nodded. "There's me and Mal and then a few others."

"I've got a baby!" Belle exclaimed, leaning over to pick up Molly. "Her name is Molly and I check her vitals every day and make sure she eats lots of vegetables. She likes broccoli the best, which is good for me because broccoli is gross."

Evie chuckled and sent a sideways glance to Ben. Ben also caught a glimpse of Hades's expression - confusion.

"It looks like you're a little doctor," Mal smiled. "Good job looking after her."

"It's practice," Belle said. "Do you think I can look after Xavier? I'll be very careful," She climbed out of her seat, leaving Molly in her chair, and waved again to Xavier. Xavier waved back with a chubby little smile.

"I'm sure you'll get to see Xavier lots," Mal murmured, getting down on her knees to be beside Belle. A hand came up and began to trace careful fingers up and down her back.

"Where's his dad?" Belle asked. "Did he die?"

Hades leaned in a little, brow furrowed.

"No," Mal choked a little. "He's, well, uh…" She glanced up at Ben for help.

Ben took Belle's arm. "Belle, Xavier is your brother. He's Mal's and my son."

Hades took in a very ragged breath. "What?" he asked.

Belle stayed quiet and blinked for several seconds, scrutinizing Xavier. "So…" she trailed off. "Are you married to two people?"

"No, honey." Ben shook his head. "Mal and I aren't married. We just have a baby together."

"So Mal and he are going to come live with us?"

"Mal doesn't want to, no."

"So he's going to live with us?"

"He has to stay with his mom."

"Can't Mom be his mom?"

"It doesn't work like that."

Belle furrowed her brow as if this didn't make sense. "So he's only coming to visit?"

"That's right," Ben agreed.

Belle nodded. "Okay," she decided. "So long as I can take care of him when he's over, I guess that's okay." She held out her hands. "Can I hold him now?"

"Sit down," Mal advised. She looked a lot more relaxed now. Ben carefully passed Xavier to Belle after she'd secured herself back into her seat and chewed on his lip.

"Honey?" he said softly to Belle, brushing her ratty hair back. "He's going to be king one day."

Belle didn't even look up. "Sure," she agreed.

"That means you might not be able to be queen - even though mom and I said you would be."

"That's okay."

Maybe it was just because she was young that the gravity of the situation hadn't sunk in. It was such a small thing to her. She barely even cared. She'd been talking about liking doctors for a few months now, but he and Audrey had just passed it off as childish fantasy. Now… she could technically do it if she wanted. And if she grew out of liking doctors and dolls and little kids, then there would be options.

"I need something explained to me," Hades announced from behind everyone. They all glanced over to face them. Hades pointed at Xavier. "He," he began, "is your son?" He directed everyone's attention to Ben.

Ben nodded. "Yes," he said softly. "Mal and I had an affair when I was out here. She saw fit to not tell me about him."

"That was the first time you'd met him, right, Ben?" Doug asked. Ben nodded.

"I can't believe it," Hades shook his head. "The King of Auradon stepped out on his wife?"

Ben flinched away.

"It was a difficult situation," Mal said in a tart tone. She ran a hand down Belle's hair and her brown hair combed itself out with one swipe. Ben wasn't sure she'd meant to do that. Mal looked over at Evie. "Can I have two plates?" she asked.

"Does mommy know about him?" Belle asked.

"Yes," Ben nodded. He glanced over to Hades, who looked upset for some reason. Ben couldn't imagine why.

Evie passed Mal two full plates and Mal set one down on Belle's other side, away from Ben and still leaving a seat for Molly.. She leaned down to whisper into Belle's ear. "I need to run somewhere real quick. Do you want me to take him back?"

"No! I can watch him!" Belle bopped Xavier on the nose. "He's cute."

Mal glanced at Ben. He nodded. "I'll watch her with him," he promised.

Mal nodded and headed for the door with her other plate. Hades stopped her just before she reached the door. "I'd… like to talk to you," he said softly. "When will you have a moment?"

"I have no business with you," Mal replied in a cold, cold tone.

"Mallie, I'm not asking for a lot. Just to talk." He reached for her hand but Mal batted his wrist aside and continued walking away. Hades let his hand fall to his side, chewing on his cheek in defeat. Ben reached for Xavier, picked him up, and gestured for Belle to finish eating her breakfast. She pouted, but didn't throw a fit.

"I can't believe you got away with calling her 'Mallie'," Ben said. "She would have killed you two years ago."

Hades shook his head. He sat down on one of Evie's bar stools and buried his face in his hands before taking a deep breath.

Ben frowned. "Is everything ok-"

"Shut up!" Hades flung a hand out at him and snapped in a voice so cold it made Ben jump. "Just… everything is fine." His hair caught fire as he pressed his fingertips to his eyes.

Evie and Doug exchanged a wary glance. Evie moved closer to the sink, worrying that the flames might grow out of control. Ben stared at the God - he looked furious. His veins were popping out of his arms and his face was red as he took several deep breaths.

"Hades?" Ben asked.

Hades's face began to slowly return to normal color. He glared over his shoulder - a look so icy that Ben felt his muscles ache as if he'd been hit instead. "Boy," he growled. "You screwed with the wrong girl."

And with that line, a lot of things suddenly made sense to Ben. He pointed out the door. "Mal?" he asked. "She's… oh."

Hades had said that his daughter had left with the villains. That she was older now and he was a grandfather. Her mother was crazy and had given their daughter a horrible middle name. Ben recalled how he had enquired about Maleficent's daughter and the proud smile that had spread across his face. With everything that had been going on with him and Mal, he'd missed the fact that Hades's eyes were always on her, that he was watching her.

Going down this line of thought, Hades had just discovered that the King of Auradon had gotten his daughter pregnant and left. Every nerve in Ben's body was on edge as his hands shook.

"Hades… it's not at all what you think… I wasn't trying to coerce her into anything."

Evie immediately spoke up in his defense. "He's a good man, Hades," she said. "They just got drunk. That's all it was."

"What?" Belle asked.

"Nothing," Everyone replied.

"Did you do something wrong?" Belle asked.

Ben chewed on his cheek. "Yes," he admitted. "Dads aren't supposed to have babies with other moms."

"Is Mom mad?"

"Very."

"Oh." Belle looked down and picked up Molly to hold even tighter. She seemed very unsure suddenly. it wasn't a look Ben was used to seeing on his daughter. But it was reasonable. Belle adored her mother, and had grown a little sensitive after all the long months Ben had spent working with her. Even though Audrey was never around for much or for long, Belle was always looking around for her and collecting small trinkets to show her. It was Audrey who always got Belle ready, even when Ben offered to, and Audrey who Belle always liked to cuddle with when she was scared or tired.

It was Audrey who was hurting the most over this.

"Maybe I should go find Audrey and make sure she's okay," Ben muttered.

"If I were you, I wouldn't leave the house with him," Doug called over Evie's shoulder, nodding a little to Xavier. "Mal will implode outwards if she has to search the camp for him after trusting you to watch him. She likes knowing where he is all the time, even if she's not present. A bit obsessive."

"Doting," Evie corrected. "I do the same thing with Morgan. It's just because they're small."

"Morgan?" Belle perked up. "You have a Morgan too?"

"That's my little baby," Evie nodded. "She's asleep upstairs." She gestured to her head and Belle craned her neck towards the ceiling, as if hoping she could see through the sheetrock.

"Just wait, Ben," Doug said, returning Ben's focus to him from the roof. "Mal will be back soon. Besides, I bet Audrey probably needs lots of space."

**Incase anyone was wondering, I did lots of research on how these cheating situations affect households and found out that, often, younger kids don't understand what is going on until they reach 10-12 and that's when the gravity sinks in. Given that Belle has never actually seen a happy marriage and is a bit used to hearing/seeing her parents fighting, she's not going to question why this matters so much however she is very sad that her mommy is sad.**

* * *

**We're going to return to Audrey next chapter. Life is going to get both a lot better and a lot worse for her.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5**

* * *

Audrey woke drenched in her own sweat and shaking despite how weak she felt. She wished her body would lie still so she could let the heavy blankets of the bed weigh her down. She wanted to drown in them and find her way to the surface later. She could see sunlight streaming in through the window behind the curtains and casting light on the room around her. The light made her eyes hurt.

In the palace, Ben had ripped down most of the heavy curtains that had gone up after Belle had been born. He'd replaced them with sheer fabrics that let in as much light as possible. He'd done it after he'd come back from here. Back from her.

Audrey buried her face in the covers. A headache was setting in and she was starving. The memories of what had happened the night before were pinching at her brain. She couldn't believe it had happened… he'd finally cheated on her.

She didn't want to use the word 'finally', but if she was honest she could acknowledge how awful she'd been to him and how it wasn't that surprising how hard Ben fell once he discovered someone with mystery, wonder, and sass. And sure, her attitude wasn't an excuse for his actions, but she certainly hadn't been trying to keep him. And it was this thinking that in a cruel, twisted way… numbed the pain. He'd cheated on her. She'd been afraid he would for years and years and he finally had. And in a way, she'd contributed to it. And a part of her was relieved that she didn't have to sit around and wait, wondering if the day was soon coming where she'd discover his infidelity. Now she was free from wondering and doomed to the reality of the situation.

Audrey slowly forced herself out of bed. The room held a large bed next to a window before extending into a bathroom where a comb and a toothbrush lay. These Audrey took advantage of, trying to focus on keeping her hands from shaking before she turned the knob on the door and left.

She almost ran into Mal.

Mal blinked in surprise to see her so suddenly and then dropped her eyes to the floor. "Good morning," she mumbled. "How did you sleep?"

Audrey didn't reply. Her stomach was churning with betrayal still. This… girl had known. She'd known from the beginning who she was and had talked as if she hadn't known. She was the mother of Ben's kid - Ben's son.

When she said nothing, Mal extended something in her hands - a plate. It was piled high with food - scrambled eggs with bacon and peppers mixed in. Audrey took it - her hands were still shaking - and Mal cleared her throat. "I, uh, thought you might like some food," she offered. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to come down and see everyone… they're all at Evie's house, eating. Ben has Belle and, uh, yeah."

"Your son?" Audrey whispered.

Mal nodded.

Audrey sniffled and wiped her eyes. Mal wrung her hands. "Do you… want to talk to someone. I understand now if you hate me, but-"

"I'm okay," Audrey sniffed. "But thank you."

Mal nodded. She took a half step back. "Well… if you need me… anyone in town can lead you to Evie's house. It's just-"

She paused and examined Audrey's face then. She previously hadn't been looking at it. "Are you alright?"

Audrey realized she must look very sickly. "Just light-headed," she muttered. "And the usual pain. I'll be alright."

Mal chewed on her lip. She glanced toward the room Audrey had left, which was still dark. "Do you want me to draw the curtain back for you and open the window?"

"No," Audrey declined. "The light hurts my eyes and I get cold easily."

Mal pinched her lips together then. "Something's not right with you," she declared. Audrey thought that was quite the statement coming from an adulterer, but Mal stepped back into her room and felt down the covers where Audrey had been lying. "Even if you'd gotten up five minutes ago, this should still be warm," Mal said. "And you're swaying and you can't focus on my eyes… headache? But then you always feel weak and you don't like light and…" She shook her head. "Whatever crap doctors looked at you, they must have missed something. Something really bad or really obvious."

"Like what?" Audrey asked. She found herself sinking to the floor, but inside felt a large weight lifted off her shoulders. Regardless of who this girl was, someone finally understood! She was right - what she was experiencing wasn't normal.

"I don't know," Mal shook her head. "But we're going to get Uma and Evie up here. They've seen and treated everything from seizures to the common cold."

"I'm going to get help?" Audrey repeated slowly.

"We're going to get you help," Mal agreed. "And you can rub it in Ben's face once we figure it out."

A laugh escaped Audrey despite everything that had happened. Mal patted her shoulder and then helped her get off the floor and travel to bed. "Stay here and eat what you can," she recommended. "I'll be right back and we'll get this sorted out."

Audrey nodded and practically fell back into bed. A few bits of egg fell off the plate and with shaking fingers, Audrey tried to scoop them up. As she ate, her headache lessened until she was able to sit back up. Her hands stopped shaking as much.

About twenty minutes after Mal left, Audrey heard people climbing the stairs. Evie and Uma appeared first and their heads swiveled to look in at her as they stepped into the room. Uma frowned. "She looks pale," she said immediately. Then, to Audrey, "Can you stand up?"

Audrey did and very nearly fell over. Evie caught her and guided her to sit back down. Behind them, Ben, Belle, Mal, and Doug - who Audrey now realized must have been the very same Doug that Evie had been talking about - crowded into the doorway. Ben looked a little exasperated, but everyone else looked worried. Ben was holding a baby against his chest, but he gave him to Belle and directed Belle to go sit on a chair in the corner with him.

Evie tilted Audrey's head back and put her fingertips to her neck. "Her heartbeat is really fast," she murmured. "Doug, can I have that water?"

Doug lifted a water bottle, but Mal snatched it out of his hands and went into the room to press Audrey's shaking fingers around it.

"Guys, she never goes outside and never exercises. I think it's pretty clear what the issue is here," Ben declared as he, too, stepped around Doug and went to sit next to Audrey on the bed. "She's let herself waste away."

"Shut up, Ben," Mal snapped firmly, glaring at him at little. Audrey was a bit surprised to see Ben blink and back off. She wished she had that power over him.

"Hold your hand still for me," Uma directed, holding Audrey's hand at the wrist. She started applying pressure, but Audrey's hand only shook more as her vision swam.

"Open the windows," Evie called and Mal flicked her finger towards the curtains. They snapped open and Audrey groaned, leaning back instinctively to bury her face in the covers. She could feel Ben rolling his eyes even with her eyes shut against the blinding lights.

"Guys, I'm serious, she just needs to-"

"Eat this," Evie directed, picking up the plate and putting it back in Audrey's lap. She forced her to stay sitting up and nodded at Mal. "Draw the curtains halfway and Ben, do shut up."

Ben fumed. The room returned to partial darkness and Audrey carefully took a few bites of food. Everything remained silent. Audrey looked around for further instructions, but Evie only gestured her to keep eating. Uma was still holding her wrist, testing Audrey's shakiness, and Evie held her fingers to Audrey's neck still.

Time passed. Audrey finished her plate and the lights didn't seem as bright. She could now focus on the people around her - Mal was standing with her arms crossed at the doorway and Ben was chewing on his upper lip while he looked at her expectantly. Evie and Uma exchanged a glance.

"How hungry are you still?" Evie asked.

"Very," Audrey murmured and took another drink. Her stomach was pinching something awful.

In a motion, Uma and Evie withdrew from her and Audrey was left sitting by herself. "Low Blood Sugar," Evie announced. "It's the same thing Doug's father deals with. He left last month after the baby was born. I think we might still have the meter to test her, right?"

"Should be in the storehouse," Uma nodded. "Mal, would you-"

Mal snapped her fingers and a zipper-closed black box appeared in her hands. She unzipped it and handed it to Evie. Before Audrey could react, they'd pricked her finger and put a drop of blood on the end of a paper, which she handed back to Mal. Mal scanned it and shook her head. "Low," she announced. "Really, really low."

"How long has this been happening?" Uma asked, turning her back to Ben, who was performing a rather accurate impression of a fish.

"Since Belle was born," Audrey said. "The doctors said it was probably just my body trying to recover after birth."

Mal and Evie both shook their heads at the same time, but it was Evie who spoke up. "They must have just assumed that was what it was," she said. "No, you have blood sugar problems, and from the sound of it, you have ever since you were pregnant. Were you ever tired or snappish at the end of your pregnancy?"

Audrey laughed. "Isn't everyone?" she asked.

"She probably didn't recognize symptoms," Uma muttered to Evie. "It was only after, when she thought she should have gotten better, that it became an issue. Of course, the doctors would have passed it off as after-birth problems since she'd just had her baby. She was probably too weak to do much while her body was trying to figure out what was wrong with itself and that's why Ben has it in his head that she's invalidated herself."

"She needs a bit more sugar in her and then she'll be able to function enough to starting moving," Evie agreed. "It's probably a sure bet that some of her pain comes from lack of movement, but if her body has been trying to get sugar all these years, there's a chance it might have worn down on her nerves and she's experiencing false pain. Stress might also be a factor. Or there might be something else, but it's a bit too soon for us to figure that out. For now, she needs to eat."

"You have orange juice at your house," Uma said.

"I do have orange juice at my house," Evie nodded. "We'll bring it. She'll see an improvement by the end of the day."

"I've been trying to eat bland foods to stop the stomach pains," Audrey frowned. "Will that-"

"Your stomach pains are probably just hunger cramps. Your body wants more food." Uma shrugged. "And this might be a bit of a stretch, but I'd say it probably has something to do with either your kidneys or liver being hurt during pregnancy."

"When all this is over, you should see if a doctor in Auradon can correct the damage," Evie announced. "They'll be able to tell you where the problem originated from."

"Is that it?" Audrey asked. "I've been dealing with this for eight years and it's just… low blood sugar?"

Evie shrugged. "The fact your bones hurt so much could be something else, but yeah. Low blood sugar."

Audrey was silent for several seconds. Then she leaned over and pinched Ben's arm. "Ow!" He jumped back. "How can you pinch so hard? Ow!"

"I told you so!" she snapped. "You thought I was being silly when I told you something was wrong, Mr. All-You-Need-Is-To-Stop-Whining-And-Get-More-Exercise."

"Has she ever passed out spontaneously?" Evie asked, turning her gaze onto Ben now. "It's a good thing she wasn't following your advice. Low blood sugar, which over-exercising and undereating contribute to, can cause seizures and death."

Ben turned bright red. "I was wrong," he agreed. "Okay? I'm sorry."

"You should be," Audrey sneered.

"I said I was!" Ben replied with his nose wrinkling up in response. "Geesh, I was wrong. What more do you want from me?"

"You guys are dysfunctional," Uma rolled her eyes and turned to Audrey. "Here's another diagnosis - Ben thinks he knows it all and that he's way smarter than you but he's usually too nice to make you do anything. You're sick of Ben's crap and the way he's always condescending on you."

"Accurate," Mal nodded behind Uma.

"That's not even!" Ben snapped. "Listen, I made one - two - mistakes and you're all ganging up on me! I was just going off of what the doctors said and what worked with Belle!"

"We're talking about in general, Ben," Audrey rolled her eyes. "If you could have just listened for five minutes… you've got a big brain; you could have figured it out."

"He did the same thing here," Uma shrugged. "Even right after we first captured him. He stayed low for a few days and then once he figured out a few things he became a de facto leader. We appreciated his help, but in a marriage with someone like you… big problem."

"Wait, so now I'm the big problem here?" Ben laughed. "Are we going to talk about her neglecting both Belle and me, never talking, banning me from certain parts of my castle… this is bullcrap!"

"I ain't saying she's innocent!" Uma shouted. She fixed a finger in Ben's face. "I'm just saying you've wronged her. Don't act like you're the saint between the two of you."

"That's enough!" Evie commanded before Ben could fire back. The baby began crying in Belle's arms in the corner at the loud noise. Audrey leaned forward to peer past Ben and make sure Belle was okay while Mal hurried over to take her wailing son back. Audrey got a glimpse of the baby as she held him. He looked like Ben. Hair and skin and everything. Belle hadn't looked too different when she was born. Something pinged in Audrey's heart. Especially when Mal ran her fingertips down the baby's back and glanced back at Audrey worriedly as if she was afraid she'd loathe the small child.

"Let's get her some food," Evie said as everyone began to calm down. Ben got up and took a half step towards Mal, hands out as if he was about to offer her help, but then he glanced back at Audrey and stilled where he was, looking pained. Audrey looked away and he set a hand on her shoulder.

"Is he okay?" He asked Mal in a murmur.

Audrey couldn't see Mal's reaction but imagined it was probably a shrug and a nod. "Just spooked. He's not used to loud noises."

Ah, she and Ben's son had things in common, then.

Ben's hand tightened on her shoulder. "We… need to decide what to do about Maleficent and you need to eat. Do you want to come back to Evie's house… If that's okay…" He glanced over at Evie, who nodded. Audrey nodded and put a hand on top of Ben's before using it as leverage to get to her feet.

Belle put a hand on Mal's forearm again. "Can I hold him again, now?" She asked.

"Let's not hold him while you have to walk down the stairs and outside," Mal replied. "When we get back to Evie's house, then you can."

Audrey closed her eyes as people began to leave the room. Belle stayed attached to Mal's side, standing on her tip-toes to look at the baby. Her baby doll was missing - she must have left it somewhere in favor of a real one. Her little caretaker.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Ben slid her arm around her waist and put his hand on her hip. It was strange to see his hand there after so many years. She'd forgotten how big his hands were.

"Can you make it down the stairs?" Ben whispered in her ear.

Audrey felt the urge to push him away - it'd only be fair, after all his snide remarks and indifference - but leaned her head into his shoulder and let him lead her down towards the staircase.

"Will she be coming to stay with us?" She asked Ben, closing her eyes against the sunlight when they crossed the threshold of the building.

"No," Ben replied. "But she'll probably bring Xander up from time to time… especially when he gets older. I already decided… it won't be good for me to come out to visit her without bringing you with. I'm… not going to give myself excuses to be alone with her. And… as for us… I'm going to try to be better. I didn't realize how bad I was being towards you and with this whole mess…"

"Do you love me?" Audrey asked.

Ben stumbled a little in his pacing. She felt his mouth open near her neck, but he said nothing. She hadn't expected him to. He used to say it all the time whenever she'd asked, but that had been before Mal and before he must have figured out what love should be like. She opened her eyes long enough to catch him glancing ahead to where the rest of the group was, and then shut them again. Part of her wanted to say 'me too,' but that would be admitting a major defeat.

"What's his name?" She asked instead.

"Xavier," Ben announced, louder than anything else he'd said so far. "Xavier James. He's ten months old."

She could feel his entire posture change - the way he straightened up and the strength that entered his frame. She knew the look without opening her eyes. It was the same way he'd been those first few months she'd been pregnant before she'd gotten too sick to keep acting perfect around him and asked to be left alone. It was the same thing he'd done - and still did - whenever Belle was around. From the first time he'd cuddled with her while Audrey rested after delivery to every day since he'd come back and changed things in their home.

She knew him well. Knew the way he thought about things and his strength and kindness. She knew, even now, his composure. The guilt and the thrill of being a new parent, all wrapped together. And despite this, if she was asked the same question she'd offered him "Do you love me?", would she be able to respond "yes"?

* * *

While the ache remained in Audrey's bones, she was astounded by how quickly her world changed as Evie put a bunch of high-sugar foods in front of her and directed her on how much to eat. Had she ever felt this good after eating? How could she have never noticed a difference? The stomach pains - Uma had been right about them only being hunger stabs - eased as Evie forced her to eat more, rather than less. And the foods, which Audrey assumed would set off even worse pains, didn't seem to faze her stomach at all despite how unused she was to them. Orange juice, sausages, and yogurt with granola and fruit mixed in. The yogurt was something Audrey had tried and found not too hard on her stomach, but she'd never dared eat too much.

Ben hovered in the room beside her, though he always made to stand when Mal happened to flit in or out. Belle followed Mal as the purple-haired fairy came and went with Xavier in tow, first to get him dressed for the day and then to go rouse Carlos and Jay before she left for a couple of other tasks.

Ben helped Evie clean things as Audrey finished another glass of orange juice Evie had set in front of her with a stern look. She glanced to the outside and the glass stilled by her lips. It was still bright - her eyes were unused to the outside, after all, but goodness, it was beautiful. And her brain didn't want to gouge her eyes out of her head. "Incredible," She murmured and got to her feet to peer outside. "Your garden is wonderful."

"Thank you," Evie replied, reaching up to put a glass in a cabinet. "Mal uses spells to help me keep it green all year long."

"That's smart," Audrey agreed, though the thought of the daughter of Maleficent performing magic with such ease gave her anxiety. "What else does she do around here?"

"Well, she's the primary leader now," Evie explained.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Ben agreed, reaching beside her to put forks away. "I'm surprised Uma let that happen."

"Uma was convinced by Harry," Evie explained with a smile. "And, uh, it kinda happened by the voice of the people. Once things got going, they requested her to be our main leader and protector."

"I thought people were scared of her?" Ben asked, raising his eyebrows. Audrey gave him a sharp look.

"That's part of why," Evie shrugged. "They knew she was powerful enough to keep Auradon away if things went sour. They also assumed she'd have, uh, lingering connections. This was before it went up that she was pregnant."

Ben chewed on his cheek and glanced towards the ground. Audrey watched him, then looked back outside. "Is she in charge of your barrier?"

"Yes," Evie agreed. "She's the overseer. Literally, since she lives at the top of that tall monstrosity. And she does other things… saves food and helps with construction and things like that. When Ben was here, she swore him to an oath that he wouldn't betray us and attack us."

Audrey hummed and put a hand up to the window to peer outside. She bit her tongue as she examined the flowers and then sat down at Evie's bar again. "Can you tell me…" she began, and Evie paused to look over at her. "How do people view Ben around here? After everything?"

Evie hummed and then leaned her elbows onto the countertop. Ben, too, stilled to listen to the response. "Well," she started. "Ben was very popular and loved when he left and you still see a lot of people who adore and miss him. The kids especially - he was popular." Evie threw a smile over her shoulder - a blinding one that would have turned heads in Auradon - but Ben only rolled his eyes at her. "When Mal found out she was pregnant, she was tight-lipped about it and didn't say anything to anyone, but there's of course only too long until people start to notice. Rumors started to fly when she was about six months and Uma called her out on it. Ben was - uh - quickly linked. They'd been close friends before he left and people would usually talk to Ben or me instead of Mal because we were the only ones she'd listen to."

Evie twisted her hands here and exhaled. "A few wondered if Ben had, ah, forced her, but that was put down quickly. No offense to Ben, but Mal could blow him off the face of the earth pretty easily if she wanted. The two common theories that flew were that Ben was just looking to get lucky or, uh, that they'd had an affair going that they'd broken off so Ben could rule Auradon and that he was going to come back one day. It never really hit the public that Ben was married, but I think gradually word spread because no one was surprised when you and Audrey appeared yesterday."

Ben let out a little breath as Audrey nodded along to Evie's words. "Okay," she whispered. "Thank you for that."

The front door opened with the grinding of metal on metal. "Mommy?" Belle called down the hall. "Are you still here?"

"I'm here, baby," Audrey called, planting her hands on the counter and working against the ache in her bones.

Belle appeared in the doorway. Ben smiled at her and Belle momentarily forgot her quest to speak with her mother in favor of giving her dad a quick hug. A breeze floated down the hallway behind her and Audrey became aware of arguing from outside.

"...not interested… I'm really not-"

"...not trying to…"

"...don't need this…"

"Mom, can I go play with the other kids?" Belle asked, dashing around the counter to hug Audrey. "Dad let me yesterday."

"Yes," Audrey agreed, partially distracted by the muffled arguments down the hall. "Please be careful."

Belle snatched the arm of Molly the doll on her way out and the arguments stopped as she re-entered the hallway. Ben stepped forward, glanced down the hall, and shifted a little. Mal, then. Mal must be down there.

Hades appeared from down the hallway. Audrey tensed a little on instinct though she was now familiar with the God. He regarded Ben with newfound disdain. What had happened? Hades had previously been impressed with Ben's leadership skills.

Mal appeared in the hallway and skimmed the room. "Ben," she began, "We need to figure out what to do about my mother." She was balancing Xavier on her hip.

"Yes," Ben agreed, reaching out to brush Xavier's hair carefully. "I don't even know if she'd still be at the palace. I tore down the map in my office, but with your barrier pretty visible, it can't be long before she figures out where you are. She'll come for you."

"She won't be able to get through my barrier," Mal replied. "But I'm not going to go out of the barrier unless I know where she is, otherwise it'll be an ambush."

"Okay," Ben agreed. "We'll have to figure out where she's gone… if she's back at the palace. Maybe I'll have to serve as bait to bring her back."

"No," Mal replied firmly. "That won't be necessary."

A sliver of a smile passed over Ben's face. "Nice to know you care so much," he teased before his face again crumpled with guilt and he glanced at Audrey to gauge her reaction. Mal, too, glanced over, but Audrey didn't feel too fazed by the banter. She appreciated the effort despite the circumstances.

It was strange, but knowing that Ben had cheated on her didn't hurt as bad as the fear that he would cheat that had crushed her in her youth.

"Couldn't you set up a moving barrier?" Evie asked. "One that would protect you as you moved?"

"A shield, maybe," Mal sighed. "Not a barrier. Barriers are fixed around immovable landmarks."

"Would you be able to take on Maleficent?" Audrey asked. "I mean… she's the Mistress of All Evil…"

"I'm more powerful than she is," Mal interrupted. "And she… probably won't try too hard once I find her. We have an odd relationship like that."

The corner of Ben's mouth crooked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't Audrey guessed he was more filled in on Mal's history than she was.

Hades drummed his fingers on the countertop across from Audrey, examining her tersely. When he didn't find what he was looking for, he turned and walked away. Ben exhaled as he left the room and Evie glanced over at him. "You should probably try talking to him again," she muttered. "Update him on the situation."

"It's none of his business," Mal wrinkled her nose. "He doesn't need to know."

Nonetheless, Ben seemed to agree with Evie. He nodded and stretched out his hands towards Xavier in Mal's arms. "Can I take him?" He asked.

Mal passed him over carefully, avoiding touching Ben himself. "Don't take him far, or I'll find you wherever you try to hide," she threatened without much bite in her tone. "He'll probably keep him from raising his voice anyway."

Ben nodded. His head had drifted lower when Mal had come towards him, but he straightened back up without consequence. With a glance towards Audrey, he left, following Hades.

Another baby began to cry upstairs and Evie moved to go retrieve the little one. Seeing as how they were going to be the only people left, Mal began to move towards the exit as well. But Audrey raised her hand. "Mal?" She asked. "Could you - could I talk to you?"

Evie gave Mal an anxious glance as she hurried out. Mal crossed her arms slowly and took a few steps forward. "Are you… sure you want to talk to me?" She asked.

"I just…" Audrey took a breath. "Have questions."

Mal sat down at the edge of the bar, leaving a separating seat in between her and Hades. She leaned one elbow on the countertop. "Yeah?" she asked.

Audrey's tongue felt fat in her mouth. She had things she wanted to say but wasn't sure how to brace the subject. "I just…" she faltered. "What was he like? When he came to you guys?"

Mal looked down. "Broken," she replied. "Very broken. Tired. He just, all the time looked like he didn't have anything to fight for."

Audrey somehow nodded to shake her head while conveying the emotion of agreement. "I understand but at the same time, I don't understand… he came back and he was happy again and yes, it was a struggle for us, but I hadn't seen him that lively in years!"

"He's just the kind of person who needs to have a mission," Mal shrugged. "That's what he asked us for, actually. Begged us to give him a purpose."

"I don't know how to be that," Audrey sighed. "He gets on just fine with Belle, but not with me."

"He's just… active," Mal stammered. Her voice sounded strained with every word. "Once you're feeling better… you'll be able to keep up with him again and things will get better."

Audrey glanced over at Mal. "Do you love him?" she asked and tried to make the question as innocent as possible.

Mal's eyes grew large and panicked. She balled her fists up and leaned away from Audrey with a white face. Audrey tried to keep her face neutral as Mal calmed back down. "I'm… not looking to take him away from you," Mal began softly. "We both made our decisions and I-"

"Is that a yes?" Audrey asked.

Mal swallowed. "Yes, I think so," she agreed. "Do you… do you hate me?"

There was a quiver behind her voice, which was absurd because she was the daughter of Maleficent, afraid of whether or not the daughter of Aurora would hate her. Ridiculous.

Audrey shook her head. "Honestly… not as much as I thought I would hate a person in this situation."

A little burst of laughter burst out of Mal. "You're not as bad as I always imagined you," she said. "You're actually kinda… I mean, I relate to you."

Audrey had to look down to hide a smile. "Well, I think we both could improve our taste in men," she whispered, and Mal began to laugh harder.

Through the window, Audrey glimpsed flaming blue hair. Hades and Ben had wandered around to the back of the house. Hades was now holding Xavier, and they appeared to be chatting slowly, mostly keeping their eyes off each other. "Did Hades ever find his daughter?" Audrey asked aloud.

Mal jerked a little in surprise. "What?" she asked. "Oh, yes, I think so."

Audrey nodded. "I'm glad. he was anxious about it." She turned back to Mal and found the other girl's nose wrinkled up in confusion. "Well, he broke the barrier to come see her. I've been listening to him talk about her in the carriage… he was excited for the chance to reconnect."

"I don't think he wanted to reconnect," Mal shook her head. "See… he wasn't exactly _there_ when she was growing up."

"I know," Audrey agreed. "So, this is what I've heard: her mother was insane, tried manipulating him and was just a control freak in general, and so he left her and she asked him not to contact the girl. And by asked, I mean she threatened him with disfigurement and a couple of other things. Also threatened their daughter. Since he was on the Isle, he was vulnerable, so he decided to let rest, but kept watch over her and tried to help whenever possible by leaving things places… the normal stuff, I guess. But then they left with all the villain kids. So he broke out to come to see her, spend time with her, help her out, I guess. He said he wanted to be part of her life in whatever way she'd let him."

Mal blinked slowly as if the information didn't faze her.

Audrey glanced down at her hands. "I kinda feel like Hades's ex-wife," she admitted. "With Ben. I just… can't blame him for this because I was… horrible to him."

"Oh, believe me," Mal snorted and shook her head. "You are nothing like her."

The back door opened and Ben glanced inside. "Hey," he mumbled. "Um, Mal, Xavier is crying. Hades's hair spooked him and we can't get him to calm down. Can you come to help us?"

Mal stood up. "Be right out," she agreed and set a hand on Audrey's shoulder. "It was nice to talk to you. Thank you."

Audrey, for as frazzled as her brain was and for everything that had happened in the last five hours of wakefulness alone, was drawing lines between the people around her. She turned to watch Mal step out into the sunshine, hold out her arms for Xavier, and take him. Hades didn't look at her, even as the purple-haired fairy studied his face. Ben shifted uncomfortably, glancing between the two. Could it be that-

"What did I miss?" Evie asked as she re-entered the room. "Where's Mal?"


	41. Westward Eastbound Part 3

**Chapter 6: Chapter 6**

* * *

Xavier hiccuped and Ben's heart melted.

"Buh," Xavier babbled to himself, repeating the single sound over and over. He was sitting beside the couch in Evie's living room, chattering and playing with the little toys Evie had left out. Ben hovered half in the doorway to the living room and half in the hallway, peering down towards the kitchen where Mal and Evie were talking. Audrey stood beside Ben and watched as Xavier slowly lost interest in the toys and then began examining the table legs instead.

"He looks like you," Audrey mumbled beside him.

Ben nodded. He reached for Audrey to put an arm around her shoulders, but she brushed his arm back and stepped into the room for some space. She knelt beside Xavier, who looked up with guarded concern at the appearance of his new playmate. "I wonder what it was like for her when he came and he looked exactly like you and you were gone."

"Well, it sounds like people had already assumed I was the father," Ben recalled, thinking back to how Audrey had asked Evie about people's reactions.

"I wasn't talking about other people. Just her," Audrey specified. She showed Xavier her hand and he carefully held his own up, glancing between their palms as if to ask "What now?" A smile spread across Audrey's face.

Ben considered that. Mal had seemed indifferent and absurdly calm when describing Xavier to him. Not the spitfire she was before, though she was still strong-willed. It could be, he supposed, a result of long-term stress or resignment.

Audrey placed her palm up to Xavier's to show him the size difference and Xavier stared at her with wild confusion. Ben snorted, cleared his throat, and waved. "Xavier," he called. His son's name felt familiar on his tongue as if he'd been saying it all his life. Xavier turned with a little jump and a tiny grin crossed his face when he caught sight of Ben, who was more familiar to him than Audrey was. He waved, rotating his wrist slowly as Ben stepped into the room and sat beside Audrey. Then, he leaned forward until he had fallen on his hands and crawled over to pull himself into a standing position using Ben's arms as a prop.

Audrey didn't look at Ben as she offered Xavier a hand and then guided him into a walking position. She did clear her throat before helping Xavier toddle around in small, easily-manageable circles. "So," she began. "Mal."

Ben flinched. He really, really didn't want to talk about Mal with Audrey.

"Is she Hades's daughter?" Audrey asked.

Ben relaxed again. That was an easily manageable territory. "Yeah," he agreed. "Hades and Maleficent."

"That's insane," Audrey huffed.

"Well, it certainly… yes, it is," Ben agreed.

"This little boy," Audrey began, leading Xavier closer to her until he was able to let go of her finger and grab her shirt sleeve for support, "is the grandson of Beast and Belle and Maleficent and Hades. What a pedigree."

"Do you like him?" Ben asked softly. He'd seen her betrayed expression the first time she'd glimpsed him this morning. No doubt she'd been reeling over their likenesses. Part of him reasoned she'd have every reason to loathe the physical proof of his infidelity, but she seemed rather content with little Xavier.

"He's cute," Audrey hummed with a nod. "He's got your face."

"Well, my features. His face is more his mom's."

"I don't hate him if that's what you're asking. Or her."

Ben stared as Xavier reached for Audrey's hand again. He'd noticed her nails and thought they were cool. "You don't?" Ben asked.

Audrey shook her head. "Mal is… nice. And it hurts knowing what you did with her, but I think you both have made your intentions very clear and-" she paused to wipe at her eyes as tears filled them. "It still hurts a lot, obviously, but that's where I am right now."

Xavier slowly let himself down to the ground and rediscovered his toys with fascination. As he picked up some sort of rattle, Ben reached over and set a hand in Audrey's back. "I'm sorry. I should have… I shouldn't have let my heart get the better of my head."

Audrey stayed silent.

"I want to fix things between us," Ben continued, setting his other hand on Audrey's leg. "Will you let me?"

Audrey moved away from his touch a little, but then sat still as his hand rested on her leg. She blinked at it slowly, as if she couldn't process that it was there, and Audrey wondered if she was going into another one of her phases where she zoned out. But instead, she squeezed his hand and then got to her feet. "Where's Belle?" she asked.

"She's still out playing," Ben reminded her. "We'll have to go find her before lunch."

On the floor, Xavier began to babble happily. He tossed his rattle aside and waved his hands in the air with a large smile. Ben turned to see what Xavier had seen and his entire body relaxed to see Mal leaning against the doorframe.

"I think I saw Belle running towards Uma's sector," Mal informed them both. "We're having lunch with Jay and Carlos at the pavilion today. We can walk over and I can find her if you need."

Ben picked up Xavier, who was still reaching for his mom with a pout becoming increasingly prominent as he extended grabby-hands toward her. Mal sighed and took the baby, letting a little smile show as he grabbed onto her hair and relaxed. "That is if this rascal doesn't need me still."

"I think he's just clingy," Ben chuckled. He set a hand on Xavier's back and then leaned in to boop noses with his son. Xavier turned away, wrinkling up his forehead and then burying his face in Mal's hair. He started babbling incoherently into her hair and then discovered Mal's hair was stuck to his hands. Mal pulled the purple locks out of his reach and then looked up past Ben with concern.

"Do you need an arm?" Mal asked Audrey. Ben looked over his shoulder and leaned out to catch his wife's arm as she swayed a little.

"Just blood rush," Audrey shook her head, though she held onto Ben's arm for a few seconds before she was able to stand by herself again. She gave Xavier a little smile that made the little boy return his face to Mal's hair. Ben pulled a few locks out from in between Xavier's fingers and let his fingertips hover on the strands a moment.

"Soft," he murmured to her and a little color rose in Mal's cheeks. She stepped back and exhaled.

Evie and Doug appeared, all wrapped up in light jackets against the faint breeze that had been blowing all day. Their little girl, Morgan, was cuddled under Doug's arm. Ben, Audrey, and Mal all followed Evie and Doug out of the house and down to the pavilion. There, Uma was serving sandwiches. She handed one to each as they passed and Ben marveled that Mal and Uma could now pass each other without insulting the other.

"We need Belle," Audrey said as she sat down.

"She already came through," Uma assured her. "All the little ones without parents get fed by us. She just followed her friends."

"Where did she go?" Audrey frowned, peering around for any group of giggling children.

"Down by the river," Harry directed her gaze, pointing towards where Ben had disappeared to the day before. "There's a little place you can hike to on the banks… they like to play games down there."

"Will she fall in?" Audrey demanded.

"The older kids keep an eye on them and don't let them get wet unless it's hot," Uma promised. "But we did set up a net downstream in case something - or someone - falls in."

"Dizzy's probably down there," Evie announced. "You remember Dizzy, right Ben?"

"I do remember Dizzy." Ben set a hand on Audrey's shoulder. "She's probably fine. Let's eat and go check on her."

Mal set her plate down beside Evie. She was close to Audrey, but not to Ben. She carefully readjusted Xavier on her hip and then glanced towards her towering building. "I need to go grab some food for him," she mumbled. "All the baby food is in his room."

"I can watch him?" Ben offered, holding out his hands.

"No," Mal declined. "I'll take him up with me. He needs to be changed and you'll have to go get Belle soon and I don't want him being carried around camp." She grew her wings out without any verbal command. Audrey dropped her fork in surprise as Mal walked around them and then took to the skies gently, holding tight to Xavier as she did.

"Wings," Audrey muttered. "She has wings."

"Yes, she does," Ben affirmed, picking up his sandwich.

"How am I supposed to compete with wings?" Audrey muttered under her breath. Ben paused with his sandwich halfway up to his mouth and gave her an odd look.

The ground rumbled. Everyone looked down, then up at the pavilion's roof. Then, the entire earth began shaking. The tables rattled and clanged and food slid off onto the ground.

"Earthquake?" Ben asked.

"Get out from under the pavilion," Evie ordered. She covered her head as she and Doug struggled to stand up. Ben used the table for support and helped Audrey up. Her hands were clasped around her neck and her eyes were squeezed shut.

They got to the edge of the pavement and Ben squinted. Out past the edge of the barrier, a great cloud was arising. Several tons of brown earth was being thrown into the air. A new shock knocked them all to their knees before the barrier turned vivid green.

"It's an attack!" Evie realized.

"Maleficent," Audrey whispered.

Lightning struck the barrier. People inside screamed. The ground continued to shake as if someone was trying to tear the barrier out of the ground. Audrey turned and seized the front of Ben's shirt. "Belle!" She demanded. "We need to find Belle!"

"I got her, I got her," Ben agreed, squeezing her hands. He got to his feet, stumbling as he tried to keep his balance on the rocking ground, and then began running towards the river. It was easier to run than to stand still. Within moments, the pavilion was out of sight. The barrier continued shaking as the sun was completely blocked out by the massive dust cloud surrounding them.

"Belle!" Ben shouted when he got close to the river. "Belle!"

He kept running downstream, hoping to find her there, but the sounds of the attack were beginning to grow louder. Loud blasts that could have come from a cannon were echoing off the barrier and the sharp crack of electricity made Ben's hair stand up on edge.

He suddenly reached the barrier's edge.

The river, which started in the east, flowed out to the west and then to the sea several miles outward. Several different sections were engulfed in the bubble-like barrier, and this was the beginning of the section closest to the road. In fact, he could see the carriage through the trees, out by the road.

A whistling sound caught his attention. Something landed to his right. Had Maleficent managed to break through? But no, it was Mal instead. Devilish horns had appeared on her head and her wings were extended, waiting to take flight at any second. Her hands were outstretched and her fingertips were glowing. her eyes were vivid, vivid green.

She raised her hands and Ben watched the barrier grow thick, almost like the green glass of a bottle. The shaking subsided. The booms seemed more distant now. He took a step closer - she still hadn't seen him yet.

Who had given her the right to be so beautiful? Even amid chaos, when she was fully prepared to murder for her people, she was immaculate. Ben watched her purple hair drift around her face as if it was obeying a gravity other than earth's. She hovered on the outskirts of the barrier, mostly turned away from him, and slowly let her hands down. Ben followed her gaze to see what she was searching for.

Outside, the dust began to settle as the attacker realized their attempts were futile. Ben balled his fists up as he kept his gaze focused on the thinning cloud. The outlines of trees became visible, and then the ground began to gradually appear.

In the middle of the path, black robes became visible. Ben almost jumped out of his skin when he recognized the vicious, fanged snarl of Mal's mother, Maleficent.

The wicked witch turned with a snap of her robes and vanished almost immediately after she became visible, but there was no mistaking who had come and gone.

"Maleficent," Ben said from upstream. Mal's head swiveled around to stare at him. Her wings and horns were retreating into her head. "That didn't take long. Only three days even without the maps from the palace."

"She saw me." Mal chewed her lip. "Did she see you? Does she know you're here?"

"I don't know," Ben admitted. "I only glimpsed her on the trail."

"I don't know if she'll come back now that she knows I'm still with the VK's," Mal muttered. She nodded towards the pavilion. "Come on, I need to talk to Evie."

"I need to find Belle," Ben protested and glanced around to affirm there were no wayward children around. "Audrey's panicking without her. Where do the kids usually play?"

"Upstream." Mal's gaze hit the ground. "In, um, our place. They like to crowd around the water and they call it 'the enchanted lake'."

"Oh," Ben sighed and nodded. "Okay."

They walked back towards the pavilion. Ben would drift closer to Mal and then remind himself to put more space between them, again and again. She was like a magnet, pulling him into her.

At the pavilion, everyone had once again crowded underneath the roof and around the tables. Audrey was sitting down, but when she saw him, she got back up. "Did you find her?" she called, walking out to meet them both.

"Belle should be upstream with the other children," Mal told Audrey. She skimmed the people around the pavilion with pinched lips. "Where's Evie?"

"I think she went to go find the children too," Audrey explained, wringing her hands. "She walked that way." Audrey pointed towards the north and Mal sighed.

"Great," Ben decided. "That's exactly where we need to go for Belle, supposedly. Let's walk up and meet her."

Ben looped his arm through Audrey's to support her as the three began their walk away from the pavilion. Mal remained stone-faced, distracted, and on-guard as Ben explained to Audrey what he'd seen.

"Maleficent discovered us pretty quickly, even without the maps in my office," he thought aloud. "I hope she hasn't hurt too much of Auradon. With me gone, things will be in disarray."

"It's only been three days," Audrey whispered. "We'll be back soon. We can sort out this thing with Maleficent and figure out something with our family."

Ben ducked underneath a sign hanging from two trees and saw that the path Mal had led them on led right to 'the Enchanted Lake'. The area had been cleared of most of the underbrush that had hidden it from the settlement and it was now a wide-open grassy area. A large cart's handle - similar to the ones they'd used to travel - was put on a stone pillar beside the path's opening and several smaller carts for the children to use were scattered around.

Up ahead, Evie was bent down and talking to some shaking children. Others wandered around and picked up fallen debris. Ben and Audrey ducked under the trees, following Mal as she walked over and pulled Evie away from the kids. It felt odd to be with Audrey here, in this place.

"Where's Belle?" He muttered under his breath, looking around.

Audrey pointed ahead to the riverbank wordlessly and Ben saw Belle picking up a yarn doll from the ground and offering it to its owner, with her medical doll underneath one arm. The motion was so simple and sweet that Ben forgot to go grab her for a moment. He simply watched as Belle sat down on the ground with her legs stretched out and tied a little piece of cloth around the yarn doll's arm as if it were a bandage and then look back down to examine her own doll's marks.

Audrey leaned her head on Ben's arm. It had been years since she'd done that, it felt like.

He was so caught up in watching Belle examine a scratch on her doll's arm that he missed the sliding, griding sound behind him. With a crash, the cart, which had been knocked off balance in the attack, slid off of its dock and began to wheel backward. The handle thumped across the ground as it rushed right for the river - right towards Belle.

Someone shouted a warning.

It hit her full on and her head was knocked back from the base of the cart slamming against her ear. Her leg was caught in the wheel and the cart flipped on top of her. Audrey let out a shriek of horror. Ben started moving, but the handle of the cart had been caught by the current. With the wooden planks grinding down on the pebbles, it was pulled into the river, which was running much faster than it should have been due to the earth shaking. Belle was pulled in after it and her head promptly disappeared underneath the waves.

He reached the banks, fell to his knees, and stuck his hands in to grab the cart's large wheel. With a mighty heave, he began to pull it back out. His arms burned. the water tugged back and tried to pull him in, but he dug in his feet and kept his grip. Belle still hadn't resurfaced. She could swim, but probably not in this fast water and not with the cart holding her captive. With a yell, he yanked back and the entire cart began to be pulled up onto the shore. Ben kept going until both wheels and handle were on the ground and then realized with horror that nothing was underneath the cart.

"Where is she?" the littler kids howled in horror. "Where's Belle?"

Audrey collapsed beside him. Her hands searched in the dirt as she stared at the water for any trace of Belle. Then her arm shot out to point downstream. "There!" she shouted. Ben caught a glimpse of brown hair and a pink shirt and jumped to his feet. As he did, a blur of purple passed him by.

"Mal!" Evie shouted.

Ben caught up to her as she stood on the bank. Since the river was winding, she'd been able to run past a bend and was now watching as Belle's body approached her. She was splashing a little against the fast current, so she must be awake.

"You can't swim!" Ben gasped as he approached. "Mal, let me-"

Mal stretched out her arm and the river stopped in its tracks. It split apart, leaving a dry riverbed, and Belle dropped onto dry soil in the center of it. Mal wasted no time in jumping in and picking up Belle before rushing back to the bank and putting her into Ben's arms. The river resumed its course as Mal climbed back onto solid ground.

Ben squeezed Belle's body. She was cold and shivering. She gasped for breath and then began to throw up water. He helped turn her so she could throw up into the river, but she began to thrash against his aid. Gargled screams escaped her mouth amidst the streams of swallowed water.

"What's wrong with her?" Ben demanded, squeezing her arms in a panic as he looked up at Mal for answers. "What can we do?"

"Her leg!" Audrey cried as she came upon the pair. Ben looked down and his hands began to shake when he saw how Belle's pant leg was drenched in blood. She was cut.

Belle stopped throwing up and began to sob and scream. "Owie!" she cried. "Owie!"

Ben ran his hands through her drenched hair. "Hey, hey, we've got you," she tried.

Belle reached out blindly. "Mommy!" she called. "Mommy, mommy!"

"Let Audrey have her, Ben," Mal ordered, moving to support Belle's head as Audrey sat down and began reaching for her.

"Audrey can't - she's not strong enough to-"

"Let me have my daughter, Ben," Audrey snapped. Her voice was so firm and powerful that Ben immediately began to calm down. Audrey took Belle from him and squeezed Belle's arms as Belle began to babble in pain.

"Mommy, it hurts! My leg, my leg!"

"Hush," Mal commanded, taking the side of Belle's face. "Listen to me, Belle. I need you to look at me. Look at me right now."

"It hurts!" Belle continued to cry. Her eyes were squeezed shut against the pain.

Mal's pupils lit up. "Belle!" she called more urgently, and Belle forced one of her eyes open. "Listen to me, Belle. What hurts?"

"My leg! My leg!"

Mal reached for Belle's ankle and Belle let loose an ear-splitting scream.

"Can you numb her?" Audrey begged.

Mal took Belle's face again. "Listen to me, Belle. What color are my eyes?"

"My leg… my leg…"

"Belle!"

Belle forced her eyes to open just barely and her entire body relaxed suddenly. Mal breathed a little sigh of relief and maintained her gaze as Belle fell silent. "What color are my eyes, Belle? Can you tell me?"

"Green," Belle murmured in a tiny whisper.

"Good girl," Mal nodded. "I'm going to move your leg now so I can help you. We're going to do it fast and it'll probably hurt, but we need you to be brave while Mom is holding you."

Audrey glanced at Ben and then squeezed Belle tighter, rubbing her arms to keep her warm. Belle gave a small, dreamy nod. She was under some sort oh hypnosis charm.

Mal took Belle's leg and quickly straightened it out through touch while maintaining Belle's gaze. Belle grimaced in discomfort, but there was no more screaming. That was good because Ben thought he might cry if he heard her yell out in pain again. Once her leg was straight, Mal was able to scoot up her wet and bloody pant leg. She then broke her eye contact with Belle for seconds at a time to glance down at the wound.

Ben almost had to turn away to throw up himself.

Something - her bone - was sticking up through her lower leg in a horrible break that had punctured her skin. It looked almost like a PVC pipe except it was bone and bloody and made Ben think he might faint. Mal's fingertips grazed over it almost carelessly and she nodded and kept Belle's gaze off of her own ruined leg.

"Its a bit bad," she told her. "But we're going to get you help, okay?"

"I hurt," Belle whispered back.

"I bet," Mal agreed. "But you're being very brave. Now we're going to fix it so it won't hurt as bad. I'm going to do it myself to make sure it gets all better. I'll be your doctor - you like doctors, don't you?"

"I like doctors," Belle agreed.

"Good," Mal whispered. "I'm going to use a doctor trick now. I want you to count backward with me, and when you wake up, you'll be all better. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Three…"

"Three."

"Two…"

"Two."

"One."

Belle never responded because she went right to sleep with her cheek nuzzled against Audrey's shoulder. Audrey let out a breath.

Mal got to her feet and held out her arms. "I can hurry and set the break," she said. "It would probably be best that you don't see it, though. I'm going to have to open it more."

Ben set his hands on Audrey's shoulders. She seemed remarkably calm, though tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Let her," he whispered. "She's done this before."

Audrey nodded and slowly let Mal take Belle out of her arms. Mal's wings were appearing as she secured Belle's arms atop Belle's torso and carefully supported her ankle and leg with her arm. Then, with a swoosh of air, Mal was gone, heading towards the large building where she lived.

Audrey began to cry in earnest now. Ben was in shock as he slumped beside her. She turned and curled up into his chest and he dropped his head onto her shoulder in complete, numbing disbelief. Upriver, the cart was being hauled onto safer ground. One of Belle's new friends had found her doll where it had been dropped before the cart went into the water.

She'd almost drowned. Her head had been under the water probably for two minutes. He'd almost lost his daughter.

Ben wasn't used to feeling so powerless and vulnerable all the time.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Chapter 7**

* * *

Two hours after Mal had taken Belle, he and Audrey were hiding in Audrey's room, waiting for more news. Ben wasn't sure how they'd gotten there - only that he'd come back to himself with Audrey asleep on his chest. They were lying width-wise on top of her covers with shoes on and tear tracks down their faces.

He focused on the light moving outside and listened carefully for any trace of sound around them besides Audrey's quiet breathing. Nothing.

Audrey stirred after a long while, opened her eyes, rolled her chin to lay on her hand on top of Ben's chest, and blinked down at him in confusion. "You're here?" She muttered.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Problem?" he whispered.

Audrey's face fell as she apparently began to remember what had happened and sat up, rubbing her cheeks. "Where's Belle?" She asked. "Has Mal come back yet?"

"No," Ben shook his head. "Nothing yet."

Audrey nodded and turned away. She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her face, trying to get the stiffness and the sleep to leave her. Ben watched her, almost numb, until she moved her hand and set it on top of his on the bed. Then, he had the urge to move away but sat up instead.

"She'll be alright," Ben muttered under his breath. "Mal… she has lots of experience."

Audrey exhaled and nodded. "I trust her," she agreed. "I'm just… worried. I mean, you never know what's going to happen. I want her to be okay."

Ben nodded. Audrey took her hand away with a breath and so he patted her knee with his hand. She chuckled and glanced up at him before shaking her head. "It's been a long time since we woke up like this," she mumbled.

Ben's mood soured even further. He gave a one-shoulder shrug and got to his feet.

"Ben," Audrey stopped him and then slowly got to her feet. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Ben repeated.

"I know I was distant. I know I wasn't there. I know you were unhappy." It was hard to keep her gaze up. She kept looking at her feet. "I… I do miss us. The way we were before."

"I'm sorry too," Ben said, though the words felt hollow on his tongue. "Maybe we can get back to that stage again."

But Audrey remained silent and didn't offer up any words of confidence. If anything, she looked like more life was being drained out of her.

A knock came from the door. Ben reached for the handle and swung the door open. Mal was behind it with curly horns still poking out from her hair. Audrey gasped and stepped in front of Ben. "You're here!" She said. "Is she alright?"

"She's in her room now, but asleep still. the sleeping spell I used should probably wear off soon," Mal explained, taking Audrey's arms to steady her. "You can go sit with her. I've wrapped her leg up because it's probably not good for her or-" her eyes flit to Ben. "-Ben to see it."

"Ouch." Ben wrinkled his nose.

"No, she's right," Audrey rolled her eyes. "You probably don't remember, but you went into shock down by the river."

Ben's face turned red. "Oh," he muttered.

Mal rolled her eyes, but there was mirth in her eyes. "In his defense, no parent should have to see their children's bones exposed. Anyways, she, uh, I numbed her. She won't feel any pain. I set the break and she should be fine. But you'll need a proper doctor to look at her. She may need extra help to walk normally again."

Audrey let out a breath and nodded. She stepped past Mal and began heading down the stairs. As she walked away, Ben put a little extra space between him and Mal. "Thank you," he muttered. "For helping her."

"She's a sweet girl," Mal shrugged. "I hope she still likes doctors after all of this." She exhaled and turned to head up the stairs. "I left Xavier when Maleficent struck. He's been alone for too long now. He's probably fine, but I need to go check on him."

"Okay," Ben agreed.

Mal paused with her hand on the barrier. "Ben… I'll be leaving soon. Today, probably. Now that I know where my mother is, it'll be easier to take her down."

"Just tell me when and I'll find a sword and-"

"No, I'm going to leave you here," Mal shook her head. "I can't spare the extra energy to protect us both. You're in charge of Xavier."

"Are you-"

"I'm sure."

Ben grit his teeth. "I can go out with you, you know."

"I know," Mal agreed. "But I need you to stay here. Really, Ben, I do. And I need you to understand that."

Ben exhaled. "Okay."

Mal nodded and headed upstairs. Ben left the room and shut the door behind him. He wandered down the stairs and looked up. He could see Mal's arm on the next stairway up as she headed up, but then she was gone. He sighed and headed downstairs.

The next bedroom down's door was open. He could see Audrey's legs as she sat on the edge of the bed. He walked towards the doorway and opened the door wider to slip in. Audrey didn't look up at him as she ran her fingertips through Belle's mangled, ratty hair and traced the cuts on her face. Belle was pale with dark lips and shallow breathing. She looked like how Ben might have imagined the original Sleeping Beauty.

"Ben, find me a comb in the bathroom, please?" Audrey murmured. She stood and moved so that she could lift Belle's head onto her lap. Ben glanced towards the attached bathroom in the room and then peered inside. There was a comb on the table that he grabbed and brought back to Audrey. Audrey took it carefully and began to pick at the ends of Belle's hair, trying not to pull or rip her hair. Ben sat down on the bed beside their little girl and found Belle's chilled hand atop the covers.

"Where's her doll?" Audrey asked.

"I saw one of the kids grab it. They'll probably keep it for her."

"We should go grab it," Audrey murmured.

"We will," Ben agreed. "I can go out and grab it later."

Audrey hummed and continued picking at Belle's hair. It occurred to Ben that Audrey had always - always - done Belle's hair and he didn't honestly know how to do that much with it. Even when the nannies had been in charge of her, Belle had gone into her mom's room every day to get ready. It was their thing.

About twenty minutes passed before a shadow appeared in the door. Ben and Audrey both looked up. It was Mal, holding a sleeping Xavier to her shoulder. "Can I leave him here?" She asked Ben.

Ben nodded and held out his hands. "I can take him," he whispered. Mal stepped inside and placed the baby into Ben's arms.

"I'll be back," she whispered.

"Be safe," he whispered. She nodded and left.

"Where is she going?" Audrey asked when Mal was far enough away.

"Her mother," Ben replied and Audrey took a little breath.

She finished with Belle's hair and set the comb aside before stretching her hands out towards Ben. "Can I have him?" she asked.

Ben blinked. "Do you want him?" he asked.

Audrey patted a spot on her lap beside Belle's head. I want to compare them," she admitted. "Belle doesn't look as much like you as he does."

Ben tilted his head at Audrey and then slowly laid Xavier beside her. He doubted Audrey could safely lift him. Xavier gave a little sigh as he settled into a fold between Audrey's leg and Belle's head and his fist settled beside Audrey's thigh. Audrey gave a little hum and combed his hair down with her hair before sighing. "He's precious," she whispered.

"You think so?" Ben asked.

Audrey nodded and leaned back towards the headboard. She continued running her fingertips down both children's heads, one at a time and going still whenever either stirred. Ben watched without a reaction for what felt like a long, long time.

Audrey's head rested on Belle's head. "She'll want her doll when she gets up," she said and Ben nodded in agreement. "I know you said you'd do it later, but will you go find it now? Before she wakes up?"

Ben nodded once and got to his feet. He paused and then leaned over the bed to kiss Belle's forehead, then Xavier's, and then Audrey's cheek. Audrey didn't say anything as she continued brushing down the two kids' hair. He left, shutting the door behind him.

The doll had been picked up at the river where the accident had happened, that much he knew. Kids were once again running around in the clearing and when they saw him, the began to maul him about Belle.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"Is her leg broken?"

"Where's Belle?"

"Belle's going to be fine," he assured them. "But I need to find her doll. Where is it?"

The kids scrambled to the heap of toys and began to pull thins away to see if they could recover it, but Molly the doll wasn't anywhere to be found. One of the older kids sat down to think. "Um…" she said. "Barley took the doll when it fell, but I could have sworn she put it into the pile. Maybe she picked it up afterward and took it to her house to keep safe. The only other place it could be is with some of the other kids who went off on an adventure that way." She pointed downriver, back towards the place where Ben had gone looking for Belle earlier that day.

Ben sighed. He remembered Barley but didn't know where she lived. Maybe it would be easier to go find the other kids first? He thanked the kids and began to head downstream, pausing every so often to see if he could hear whispers. The river once again began to take him closer to the barrier.

He happened past the trail that led to where his empty carriage still waited and squinted at it. It still looked undisturbed. He hoped none of the little ones knew it was there - it wouldn't be good for them to be outside of the barrier at the moment.

Ben crossed the path, tripped over a rock and stumbled before he spotted something pink up ahead. It made him pause - hadn't Belle's doll been wearing a pink dress when they'd left the palace?

A few steps closer and the familiar plastic face came into view. It was laid against a rock as if standing and looked like it had been abandoned. Strange. The Isle kids rarely abandoned anything - they were all paranoid with the idea of things being stolen or taken away from them if they weren't in protected spots. Even stranger was that the area around the doll was undisturbed. No tiny stick teepees for the kid's adventures or heaps of leaves to serve as pretend food. It was as if the doll had been dropped and left.

And strangest of all, it was three feet behind the barrier.

" Don't go out," a voice commanded him that sounded strangely like Mal's. " Don't do it."

But the doll was right there, almost within arms reach, and he had to make sure he knew where the other kids had gone.

"It could be a trap."

Or it could have been a trap. A trap that had already worked. Ben stepped closer to the barrier and looked all around. Everything was calm and undisturbed. If he were to grab the doll, jump back inside, and rush to tell Evie, everything would be fine.

" Leave it there. It's a doll."

Ben pushed a hand through the barrier. He had long arms but still could only reach about halfway. With a deep breath, he poked his head out and reached.

His ears were filled with sweet… music. How hadn't he heard it before? It was beautiful and alluring and made his entire body feel numb and sweet.

"Come with me, child," someone beckoned him from the trees.

Ben straightened up and left the barrier behind. The person gave a hum of approval. "Touch the doll," they encouraged. "Touch it, I say."

Ben looked down. The doll had transformed - it wasn't Belle's prized medical practitioner's equipment but a long and curved sword. When had that happened? He picked it up.

A crooked finger appeared, beckoning him onwards. Ben walked across the clearing towards the trees. Smoke began to billow out of the trees as he neared them. A shadow emerged - someone with curved horns and a thin nose and pink mouth. Cold fingers reached forward and curled around his chin. "Tell me, child, what color are my eyes?"

That was a spell. Hadn't someone used that spell today? He couldn't remember who or what for.

"Green," he answered, and felt his eyes roll into the back of his head.

* * *

"A dream is a wish your heart makes," Audrey sang softly, alternating between brushing Belle's hair off her face and brushing down the peach fuzz on Ben's son's head. "When you're fast asleep."

Ben had been gone for a while now and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious where he'd gone. Mal was gone, not that it would matter too much if they were talking alone. All the damage had been done.

"In dreams, you will lose your heartache. Whatever you wish for, you keep." Belle stirred underneath her mom's touch and Audrey sent another frown to the door. Where was Ben?

"Mom?" Belle asked, blinking up at Audrey's tanned hand.

Audrey leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Hello sweetheart," she whispered. "Are you feeling better?"

Belle nodded and turned her head. She smiled when she saw Xavier and leaned her head against his leg before she sat up. She moved the covers aside and found her bandaged leg underneath the sheets, which she ran her finger down. "Is it broken?" she asked.

"Yes," Audrey sighed with her stomach twisting. "We're going to take you back to Auradon to get you checked out just as soon as Maleficent is gone."

"Did Mal fix me?" Belle asked.

"She did," Audrey couldn't stop a smile. "But we want to still get you checked out. You might need some extra help to learn to walk, just like I'll need some help to start not being sick again."

"We can get better together," Belle nodded and fell back into Audrey's side, snuggling up against her torso. Audrey's ribs ached, but she only squeezed Belle tighter and kissed her head.

"That's a good idea," Audrey whispered. "I want to spend lots of time with my little doctor."

Belle patted her hand. "I can take care of Xavier and me and you. And maybe Dad, if he gets hurt."

Audrey chuckled. "Dad has some things he needs to figure out, so it might just be you and me sometimes, baby."

Belle went a little quiet and then tilted her head into Audrey's side. "Mom, how come we all have different rooms at home?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Evie shares with her husband and so does Uma and all my friend's parents," Belle explained. "At first I thought it was weird, but they all think I'm weird because you don't share with Dad."

Audrey chewed on her cheek. "Yeah, dad and I are a little different," she agreed. "We're not like a 'real' married couple, I guess."

"You're fake married."

Audrey laughed. "I guess."

Belle nodded. "That makes sense."

Audrey kissed Belle's hair again. Her little body felt warm against hers. She didn't want to let go.

The door opened. Evie appeared, holding Belle's doll in one hand. "Oh, hey," She smiled. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake Belle by knocking. The kids told me Ben was looking for this? Where is he?"

"I don't know," Audrey frowned. "He's been gone for a while."

Evie looked surprised. "I'll go find him," she decided. "It's not like him to wander off." She gave the doll to Belle and tucked the covers up underneath her shoulders. With a kiss to the head, she was gone again.

Audrey laid a hand on Xavier's head. If Mal had returned, she would have come to check on the baby. Unless she'd found Ben en-route, then she might have stopped to ask where he was. But no one besides Evie had stopped in and that meant Mal was probably out looking for her mom still. Could Ben have gone after her? If he had, he would be in a world of trouble for leaving their son with Audrey and then not bringing back Belle's doll, but that seemed so unlike him.

He was probably still just out looking. He'd hopefully be back soon.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Chapter 8**

* * *

Swish, swish, swish. The rough edges of the leaves tried to catch onto her pants, but couldn't get a good grip on the leather. Mal did wish they'd be a bit quieter, though.

She could see the remnants of someone using magic in the area as she wandered through, but it was all in traces and hard to track. A little bit of something caught on a tree here and there and there… or stuck on a rock here or there or there.

It hadn't been very long and she didn't expect to have found her mother after scarcely a half-hour of searching, but she did need to keep in mind that the longer she spent looking, the higher the chance of her getting jumped was. And she did have a limit of sorts - she had to be back to take care of Xavier eventually.

She jumped over a log and finally caught a glimpse of something physical in the earth. Faint lines of someone dragging fabric behind them. Her mother had been here then. But only for a few seconds before becoming smoke again. it looked like she'd been popping around the barrier, looking for some way in. That was the third she'd found just by making her way around the barrier.

Someone shouted inside the barrier and nearly scared her out of her wits, but nothing outside was disturbed as of yet. She decided to keep heading on. She was almost to the entrance and that was the last place they'd seen Maleficent and probably both the most likely and least likely places to find her, depending on Maleficent's mood. She'd either be dramatic and pop out of nowhere or she'd be cautious and refuse to make a move. Given the state of their relationship, with Maleficent being terrified out of her mind, Mal assumed it would be the latter.

She came upon the path and hesitated only a moment before stepping out into view. Everything was disturbed here, in the area Maleficent had blown her dust cloud into. Maleficent must have thought that she was still strong enough to penetrate Mal's magic, even a little, and had given it her all. She'd barely shaken the foundations.

Ben's carriage still stood on the side of the road. Mal wandered over and dusted off part of the front to reveal the Auradon crest. She remembered it well from the night she'd stopped Ben's carriage in the road. As she studied it, she felt something shift in the air around her but refused to move. Her mother was here then? And sneaking up on her… odd of her to take the quiet route. She'd assumed Maleficent would draw near and try to call out to her - convince her to join her side one last time. But no, apparently she'd decided her only daughter was uncontrollable and far too much of a liability. And since Maleficent wasn't powerful, fast, or smart enough to kill Mal head-on, she had to resort to sneaking up.

A pebble rattled across the earth. Odd - why wouldn't Maleficent use her smoke attack? She must have assumed Mal was looking for traces of magic and would immediately sense it. She felt the waver of a sword being readied, waited, and then ducked down at the same second the metal blade would have slashed through her head. She came back up, summoning her powers about her, and stopped in shock.

"Ben?" she asked.

Ben attempted to drive the sword through her chest and Mal stumbled back into the wheel of the carriage. "Ben?" She called. "What's going on? What's gotten into you?"

He kept coming, and his attacks weren't clumsy either. At some point, someone had trained the King of Auradon in sword-fighting, because he was far too talented to be an amateur. She ducked around the wheel, rolled underneath the carriage, and jumped up on the other side before throwing up a barrier around herself. It was invisible, not nearly as powerful as the monstrosity that was keeping everyone safe, but still enough to protect herself. She expected Ben to run right into it - he was human, and had no way of knowing what she'd done - but he straightened and ceased attacking immediately. His face was withdrawn and blank.

Two options; either this wasn't the real Ben, or he was spelled. There was no other way he would have known she'd used a spell. And while she knew she'd left Ben with Xavier in the bubble not even an hour ago, she doubted Maleficent would have thought to… _torture_ her like this. Playing with her mind with this man - the king who'd fallen for her and loved her - when Maleficent had no way of knowing what had happened. No, it was more likely that Maleficent had found him. He must have come out of the barrier. Had he been looking for her? After she'd told him no?

"Ben," she called, backing up even more as Ben remained stone-faced. Something twinged in her chest. It wasn't as if he looked _horrible_ when he was focused on nothing and looking as if every emotion had abandoned him, but it was a different picture from the passionate person she usually knew. "Can you hear me?"

He didn't react at all. His eyes followed her hands as if he suspected she might try and attack him. She tried to keep them from shaking. Maleficent could be using Ben as her eyes and she couldn't let her mom see how much this was hurting.

"Isn't he pretty?" Someone crooned behind her. Mal was so focused on Ben that she jumped when she realized Maleficent had appeared behind her. She kept her shield up as she rotated her body around to see them both at the same time. Ben didn't move. Mal waved her hand to him.

"Is he real?" She asked.

"Kill him and find out," Maleficent challenged with the widest smile Mal had ever seen on anyone.

Mal didn't move. She readied her shield and squinted at her mother. "That's treason," she announced blandly.

Maleficent nodded. "King of Auradon. Better hope he's not the real one."

Ah. So that was the idea. Have Auradon declare war on the villains.

"I could just put a shield around him," Mal snarled. "If I take you out, his spell will be broken."

Maleficent wavered a little. There it was - the fear Mal had been reeling over for the last three years. Maleficent had an ace - she had the King of Auradon, for heaven's sakes (And Mal's lover, though her mom didn't need to know that) - she just had to play it right or Mal could steal him back and Maleficent would have to withdraw or lose.

Mal lit a hand up with her signature green flames and extended it towards Ben as a silent challenge to her mother. If they ended up having a battle over Ben's mind, Mal would win. She studied Maleficent's reaction. Her mother didn't move. it was as if she was waiting for something to happen.

Ben moved behind her and her head snapped around to watch as his knees hit the ground. He took his sword, put it at an angle, and held the blade flush to his neck. Mal's blood went cold. One half-inch more and he'd be bleeding out. Ben was holding his breath so the exhale wouldn't cut his neck open.

"Take down your barrier, Mal, and the king lives," Maleficent called.

Mal's eyes filled with stubborn tears. She'd never been this emotional before - why now? "What does it matter?" She demanded. "If I take down the barrier, you'll take the villain kids. if he dies, Auradon comes after us. Either way, you're dooming us."

"Not that barrier," Maleficent crooned. "Your barrier. Come, Mal, join me and I'll break his spell and let him walk away. I swear it."

"I'm not interested in being under your rule," Mal sneered. "I spent sixteen years and I learned, mom. You're afraid of me anyways."

"Mal, baby, I was never afraid of you," Maleficent lied and Mal raised an eyebrow at the telling shake in her voice. "I was so, so proud. And I'll be proud again… just come back to me."

"No," Ben said suddenly from behind them both. Maleficent had let his spell lift while she struggled to stay still in Mal's presence. His head was wrenched back as Maleficent re-asserted her control of his body, and then the edge of the blade drew a line of blood from his neck.

"Stop!" Mal shouted when she saw the blood. What could she do? Even if she put a barrier up around him, he'd still be under her control. He had done something - obeyed a command of some sort - and not even severing the magic would undo the spell right away. She could try and battle for Ben's mind but there was no chance Maleficent wouldn't slit Ben's throat before she could stop him and no guarantee she wouldn't damage his mind trying.

"What do you want?" she demanded. "On your side, what do you want me to do?"

"Come rule with me," Maleficent crooned. "Nothing more. He'll walk free."

Mal grit her teeth. An idea popped into her head. She narrowed her eyes at her mother, then sent a cutting blast of hardened flames at her. Maleficent barely managed to get out of the way - leaving a charred tree behind her as she tripped over her robes and toppled down. Ben let out a strangled gasp behind her - with Maleficent's focus gone, he could bring the sword down from his neck.

He jumped to his feet. Blood was dripping down his collarbone in a little river that made Mal so angry she could feel heat behind her eyes. She kept sending near-solid fire blasts toward her mother as Maleficent jumped out of her way. The older woman's face was white with fear. Ben took the sword he was holding and jumped to Mal's aide, even though there wasn't a lot he could do while she was hurling fire back and forth. He did stamp out a flame near his foot and it was then that Mal was reminded she needed to be careful to not set the forest on fire as she attacked.

Maleficent vanished into a few wisps of smoke. Mal stopped her attacks and glared all around her, waiting for her to reappear. The forest had gone quiet again.

"Where'd she go?" Ben whispered after several long seconds of nothing.

"I don't know," Mal whispered. She might have scared her off, though she hoped that wasn't the case. She stopped looking around to skim Ben. He looked unharmed except for that tiny cut on his neck. He was holding the sword in his right hand and kept fixing the handle as if the sword wasn't weighted properly for his arm. "I'm going to kill her, and then I might kill you too."

"I'm sorry," Ben muttered under his breath. "I saw Belle's doll behind the barrier. I was trying to get it."

The doll. Mal cursed mentally. That must be the object Ben had touched. Fabulous. At least it wasn't around now. Maleficent's control over Ben would be weaker without it. She sneered and turned to press her fingertips to her head. "Hey," Ben began and reached out to set a hand on her shoulder. His fingers knocked into her barrier and there was a zap that made Mal gasp. When the light smoke cleared, Ben was shaking his hand. "Oh," he said. "You have a barrier."

"Get under here," Mal demanded and pulled him in, making the space wide enough for both of them. "Goodness gracious. Okay, this space will follow me around, so as long as you stay close to me, we should be fine."

"Fine?" Ben repeated, and his voice sounded a little weird. Mal wrinkled her nose up at him and then a green fog crept into Ben's eyes. Mal took a step back. How? Maleficent wasn't around and the doll was…

She looked down at the sword. It had a black handle and looked new and clean. There wasn't anything like that around here.

Oh. She'd screwed up.

Ben attacked, stabbing straight for her heart. Mal jumped back and her foot caught on a rock. Before she could wrench it out, he stomped on it. He swung for her head and Mal put up her arm to stop it, letting a metallic-like protective surface cover her sleeve before Ben's sword clanged off.

"Ben!" She shouted. He was still inside the barrier - shouldn't Maleficent's hold be weaker? "Ben, it's Mal. Remember me?"

"I remember you," Ben agreed, but every word echoed with Maleficent's tone. "Don't you remember me, Mal? Didn't you remember me when you left me locked up on that island?"

It was Mal's fervent wish to never hear Ben impersonate her mother - ever.

Mal jabbed Ben in the knee with her elbow. He fell and she rolled on top to try and pin him down. She kept a particular focus on his sword hand as he tried to inch the blade down onto her head. She just had to wrestle the cursed blade away and…

Ben kneed her in the stomach. It didn't have as much effect as it would have if she hadn't been clenching her abs as tight as possible, but it still left her a little breathless and caused her to lose focus. Ben used the distraction to flip her. Now she was on the ground with a hard rock pressed into her spine and Ben was pressing his blade down onto her neck.

For a moment, she wondered if she might die, but then she noticed Ben's grip grow looser. He stopped pushing her into the ground and simply held her there. Some of the fog cleared out of his eyes.

This didn't make any sense. Why would Maleficent stop focusing on him right when she had Mal pinned?

"You need to kill her," Ben stammered. It was his voice without Maleficent behind it. "I know you can… please?"

"You need to go back into the barrier," Mal hissed. She wanted to spit out Xavier's name, but if Maleficent got any sort of hint who Ben was to her or what else she had on the line, then this battle would be better than over.

"Mal…" Ben whispered. His grip was loosening even more now. Mal imagined a target painted on the side of his head. If she could just knock him out, then…"

"I love you," he whispered.

Her eyes snapped back to his. Why on earth would he say that now? After everything?

A prompt came to mind: "Grab him. Get the sword."

She seized his arms and flipped them again before she managed to wrest the sword out of his hands. Ben's head dropped onto the ground as he gasped for breath and Mal got to her feet, raising the sword triumphant over her head. His eyes returned to their normal color.

Mal, in turn, felt hers color over.

She tried to bring the sword down - she couldn't. She tried to cast a spell - nothing.

While she'd been fighting with Ben, she'd lost focus. Her barrier had dropped. And then Maleficent had issued a command that had seemed perfectly reasonable - without her even knowing.

Mal felt her mind lockdown. Ben got to his feet. He was frowning at her. He reached forward - first for her face before he changed his mind and set his palm down on her shoulder. "Mal?" he asked. "I'm okay. I promise. I'm sorry I attacked you."

Mal flung her left hand out and smacked him. The blow was so hard he flew back and landed against another thick rock, gasping for breath. Mal shrunk the sword down and put it in her pocket - it'd be safe there and hard to retrieve. Ben was staring at her as he slowly connected the pieces and, for the first time from him, she could see real fear. It was a strange look for the King of Auradon.

Then Mal summoned her powers around her, and the world became walls of fire.

* * *

Audrey was, thankfully, out of the tall building with both of the children when the bubble popped. The ground had started shaking again just as Jay had set Belle down in the grass outside of the building. Xavier was babbling on Audrey's hip as he examined her earrings, which had been in for a few days now. Everyone looked down, and then everyone looked up as the green barrier flashed once and then burst open with a sound like firecrackers. Evie gasped.

With the barrier gone, dust was thrown into the air. Within seconds, it was as if the world was gone. Xavier began to cry and rub his eyes with tiny fists. Audrey shushed him as she stumbled, trying to find her balance, and almost tripped over Belle. She dropped to the ground beside her. "Mom," Belle whined, bouncing up and down on the earth and trying to hold onto Audrey's arm. "Where's Mal?"

"We have to get out of here," Evie shouted. "Everyone, head for the safe place!"

"Evie?" Audrey called and Evie appeared out of the dust. "What's going on?"

"Maleficent got Mal," Evie said, dropping down and reaching for Xavier. "Come on, we have to get out of here. It's not safe!"

"Take Belle!" Audrey told Evie and pulled Belle's arm off of hers. "I can carry Xavier but I can't carry Belle."

"Mom!" Belle began to cry. Her leg was broken, her dad was gone, and now her mom was handing her off too. "I want to stay with you!"

Audrey kissed her forehead quickly while struggling to her feet. The ground was still shaking, but she was slowly growing used to it. "Come on, baby. Go with Evie and I'll see you soon. And when this is all over, you and I will go somewhere special together where we can both get help, okay?"

Belle continued crying as Evie scooped her up. She took Audrey's hand and helped her to her feet. "Come on, it's this way," she said.

Audrey pushed Xavier's head down into her shoulder to shield him from the onslaught of dust and trudged over the shaking earth. Evie showed her the way into the trees, where others were marching. Soon, they came upon a giant cement hut that was two stories high and partially buried. The windows were so thick she couldn't see inside of them. Despite the fact the earth was shaking, this structure didn't move or crack in the slightest.

Everyone was dusty inside and stamping off dirt on large mats whilst also trying to move inside and make room for other people. Evie carried Belle over to where Carlos was sitting in a chair, looking broken. She set Belle down beside him and gasped out: "What do we do?"

Carlos snorted. "Mal's gone," he said. "We're done for."

"She wouldn't have left," Evie protested. "She gave Maleficent up, remember? She wouldn't go back!"

"I think she did," Carlos snapped. "And it's only a matter of time before she comes to kill us too. I told you from the beginning, Evie, the day Mal decides she's done is the day we're all done."

"But what about Xavier?" Audrey asked. "He's her son."

Carlos ran a hand through his hair. "The thing about Mal is… she's always searching for that sense of belonging. And she wants to feel like her mother wants her around. Like she belongs with her mom. I guess we gave her a bit of that. I guess Ben did too, and that's why she tripped over herself for him. And Xavier… I mean, when someone thinks you're the sun, how could you not feel like you belong?" Carlos shook his head. "I guess it wasn't enough to keep her."

"That's wrong," Audrey shook her head. "No, there's got to be some other explanation."

"Oh, and what would that be, Princess?" Jay spat. Audrey jumped - she hadn't seen Jay sneaking up on them from behind. He pulled a knife out of his bag to whittle at the end of a stick. "Carlos is right. Mal left. She's always looking for someone to… welcome her with open arms. And now she'll kill us all, hoping that her mother will finally love her."

"No," Audrey insisted. "That's not the kind of person she is."

"Oh shut up!" Jay yelled. "Don't you understand? We're all going to die!"

Everyone turned. People were silent except for the little echoes of Jay's proclamation. He kept going. "What do you know? You're from Auradon, live in a castle, ignore everyone around you for years, and destroy your own marriage." Jay scoffed. "Ben's told us about you. We know what kind of person you are. You're just like her. You'll do anything to be able to live the way you want to live with the title you want to have. Even chase away a guy's friends and keep him isolated."

"Maybe that's me," Audrey snapped with tears filling her eyes. "But that's not Mal!"

Across the room, the door snapped open. Everyone turned around to see someone shaking the dust out of his hair. He was so dirty that no one recognized him until he cleared his throat and began to yell.

"Mal's been spelled!" Ben shouted at the top of his lungs. His throat was scratchy, but he was still clear. "She's under some sort of mind-control charm!"

"I told you so!" Audrey snapped at Jay. She pushed him back a little, which probably did her more damage than him, and then dropped to the ground and gave Xavier to Belle. Then, she marched across the room. People got out of her way as she went. She put her hands on Ben's arms. "Where is she now?" she demanded.

"Heading back towards Auradon. The city… the city is flattened." Ben's shoulders dropped in disappointment. "She'll hit Charmington soon. I think they're going to head for the Isle and break it open all the way."

Well, we need to stop her," Audrey declared. "What can we do to stop her?"

Ben stared and fumbled for words for several seconds. "Well… the mind control spell only works if Maleficent is focusing and if Mal has that cursed sword on her. She put it in her pocket - there's no way we can get it out. But if we break Maleficent's focus for long enough, Mal might be able to break free herself."

"I'm sorry," Uma appeared on Audrey's left side. "About five things happened at once and I got distracted. How do you expect to distract Maleficent long enough for Mal to get out from under a mind-control spell? And what if she doesn't?"

"Well, then we'll go to plan B," Audrey replied as if it were obvious.

"What's plan B?" Uma asked.

"Not sure yet. Let's go." Audrey waved for Evie, Jay, and Carlos to join them. Evie hesitated, then kissed Doug and their baby on the cheek and head respectively before heading over. The boys followed behind. Uma looked impressed.

"I knew there was something I liked about you," she laughed. "How are we going to catch up?"

"Our carriage," Audrey decided. "Ben, you know how to drive, right?"

Ben shook his head. "I know how to crash," he corrected her.

"I'll drive," Uma decided. "And before we go-" She kicked a barrel and something metal rattled inside. We may need some swords."

"We may," Audrey agreed. She glanced back to Belle and Xavier, who were huddled into a corner. As Uma handed her a sword, she took a deep breath. Doug moved closer to the kids - he'd be just fine to watch over them. Still, she wandered over, knelt beside Belle, and kissed her forehead. "I promise, when all of this is over, you and I are going to spend lots of time together. We'll play games, and read books, and we're going to be very, very happy."

"And dad?" Belle murmured, looking behind Audrey's shoulder. Audrey glanced behind her. She hadn't realized Ben had followed her.

"And dad," she agreed.

Ben knelt and picked up both kids. Belle sniffled and buried her face into his chest. "You'll be okay," he whispered. "Just stay here and everything will be fine. We'll be back soon."

"I'll watch them," Doug volunteered. "It'll be okay."

Ben kissed Belle on the cheek and then Xavier's little head. Xavier wasn't quite sure what to make of his dad getting back up and towering over them. Audrey gave them a last little smile before they headed to the door. Uma and Jay were working on wrenching it open. Ben grabbed Audrey's arm to stop her.

"That was cool," he whispered. "I haven't seen you… come alive like that before."

Audrey shrugged and didn't meet his eyes. "Let's just get out of here," she muttered. "She needs help."

The door was wrenched open at the same time Ben spoke, so Audrey missed whatever he was going to say. Outside, the wind was howling and screaming. Clouds of dust rushed inside. Six warriors pushed their way out before the door was shut again and all was quiet.

* * *

Across the way, Mal was leaving a path of destruction. uprooted tree trunks and gigantic boulders reduced to silt piles. Clouds of lightning were her escorts as she blazed through the forests, flattening the hills into charred pathways and filling the rivers with steaming gunk. She'd never used so much power in such a destructive way before.

There came a mountain and Mal threw out her hand and watched it crumble from the peaks down. The ground shifted and shook as she pushed everything down to her level and continued her march. Up ahead was Charmignton and beyond that was the bay where they'd first landed.

She was so close. So close to doing everything Maleficent had ever wanted to do. Using this power was so good… so fulfilling… her head felt fuzzy from all the new and strange feelings that were rushing into her from the magic. Almost there and-

Something whizzed past her nose. Was that… an arrow?

"Now!" Someone yelled from inside the dust storm, and a group of people rushed out of the dust. They were so small, despite their height, and seemed so silly armed with their swords and knives and bows. Mal raised her hands.

This should be fun.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Chapter 9**

* * *

Ben hoped to never see anyone in this state again. He barely even recognized Mal as she flattened the Arendellian southern mountains with a gesture and glare. Her skin was blue with oxygen miscoloring and she flashed and flared like some sort of living fire that was crackling with power. All of the plant life was sucked from around her as she walked. Lichens, mosses, and grasses withered into dry and cracked earth at her feet. The blue sky vanished as blue and purple storm clouds swallowed up the horizon, swirling around her like a hurricane without an eye.

They rushed in towards her, but the fog grew thick. Ben felt small particles stinging and burning his skin as they struggled to her. It was hard to breathe. He had always felt breathless around her, but this was like he was swallowing electricity. Like she was trying to pull his heart up his throat. The others were also struggling - Audrey especially could scarcely keep her balance.

Mal moved rather slowly for someone with so much raw power. Her goal clearly was to ruin as much as possible, not rush to the Isle of the Lost. She was doing a good job, too.

Uma drew back with a bow and shot towards Mal's leg. The arrow's flight path was immediately distorted and pulled upwards, towards the sky. It ended up skidding past the tip of her nose. Mal whipped around. When her green gaze landed on where their group was hidden, Ben felt an individual flame lit in every pore on his body. He'd never been more terrified of anything in his life.

Jay leapt first. He batted the smoke that was wafting off the ground away and jumped forward into Mal's line of sight. "Mal!" He shouted. His voice echoed in the vacuum of air Mal was creating. "You need to stop!"

Mal batted her hand and several thousand needle-like green shards of glass began sprouting out of the ground. Jay panicked and jumped away. Carlos snatched the back of his jacket and yanked him into the group and onto safe ground. Ground that immediately opened up beneath them.

Carlos and Jay fell with a shout but Jay caught the ledge of the ledge and pulled them both back up. At the bottom of the chasm was a swirling pool of lit magma that was quickly rising to the surface.

"Move!" Ben shouted, grabbing Jay's arm as he got back to his feet. "We've got to get away from this!"

Something hard struck his cheek. Ben grabbed it and looked skyward. A pebble landed beside him on the ground, then another and another.

It was now raining rocks.

They scrambled away from the chasm as similar cracks appeared in the earth. Lava began to flow from the cracks as they jumped to higher ground. Debris continued swirling in the air.

Ben helped Jay, Audrey, and Uma up onto a boulder. As he did, the lava was slowing down. He could feel and smell it from twenty paces away, but Mal's magic swept it mostly back down into the cracks in the earth. Still, not safe.

"Mal!" Evie yelled at the top of her lungs, though Ben was sure most of the sound was lost to the wind. "You can't do this!"

A lump of fiery green coal was shot out of the smoke. It slammed into Evie's cheek and knocked her back, off of the boulder. Mal's Maleficent-tinged laugh echoed all around them. Ben caught her before she could tumble into the cracks in the earth around them. A blueish burn had made the skin bubble up on her face.

The earth shook and the boulder split in two. Ben, Evie, and Carlos were hurled to one side, and Jay, Audrey, and Uma to the other. Ben heard shouts of pain from Carlos/

"Maleficent!" he tried, getting to his feet. "I know this is you!"

The rock rain stopped and out fo the fog, a shadow appeared. It was Mal, who crossed her arms and smiled like the Cheshire cat at him. "Oh, it's the king!" Maleficent cackled through her voice. Then, Mal's chin dropped to her chest and she went unresponsive. Maleficent appeared out of nothing beside her daughter and drew her fingers down her cheek. "Isn't she pretty? She's grown up so much."

Ben's heart thudded. Was Maleficent trying to imply…?

Maleficent hummed a little. "Mommy's little bomb," she hummed. "I knew she was powerful, but this… this is glorious." She gestured at all the destruction around them.

"It'll certainly be interesting to see how she reacts once you take that spell off her," Ben replied. He couldn't raise his voice too high in this smog. "You can't keep her under that spell forever. You'll have to let her go eventually, and she'll destroy you."

"She won't destroy me," Maleficent disagreed, petting her fingers through Mal's hair. "She's always wanted me to love her. What happened in the forest… that was just her panicking because of her friends."

"Take it off now," Ben challenged. "If you're so confident."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes.

"The moment you go to sleep, the moment you turn your back, the moment you let your guard down, you're a dead woman," Ben told her.

"I don't need her much longer," Maleficent sighed. "It's a shame - if she had joined me, she could have lived. Now she's disposable. Useful only for her powers."

The left side of Mal's face twitched, which was odd because she was supposed to be completely under Maleficent's spell. Ben zeroed in on the movement.

"You won't be able to kill her," he mumbled. "She won't let you do that."

Maleficent run a hand across Mal's shoulder's and Mal's head snapped back up. "You're annoying," they said, echoing each other. "Little Beasty King alone in his castle. You didn't pay attention to the Isle of the Lost, so pay attention while we destroy everything you love."

Uma raised her sword and rushed forward with a battle cry, but Mal threw a hand out and the sword imploded. Uma was blasted back and her head slammed hard into the ground. Ben willed himself to stay still, staring straight at Mal and trying to keep from blinking against the dust as much as possible.

"Kill him," Maleficent requested, walking a bit behind Mal and watching with interest as Mal's hand immediately went to her pocket. She pulled out a sword - the same sword that Maleficent had commanded Mal to take and which was serving as an anchor over her will, enlarged it, and readied it in her hands. "Go on, Darling. Do it for us. For everything he did to us."

Ben's mind was racing. Should he say something? Should he try and argue? He wanted to remind Mal of their son but if it didn't work and Maleficent realized, then it really would be game over. Instead, he prepared to duck if Mal decided to swing that sword at his head.

Maleficent suddenly frowned at Mal, as if she had said something incredulous. "Go on," she barked.

Mal raised the sword above her head and Ben watched, expressionless, as it inched down at an angle toward his neck. The slower she went, the more confident he got.

Maleficent went stiff.

"Mal," he whispered and took a half step closer to her. The cold metal hit his neck but didn't press any further. "You know you don't want to kill me."

"It'd be easier," she muttered, and her voice didn't have Maleficent's echo in it.

"Come on, Mal," Ben shook his head. "Are you really going to leave me alone?"

The green light vanished from Mal's eyes and she snapped the blade away from Ben's neck. "No!" She declared. She turned around towards Maleficent and the ground caught fire at her feet. Her skin on her hands started burning away as she trembled to hold the cursed sword. It began to break apart. Ben had to look away. His skin felt like it was on fire. In the distance, he could hear Maleficent screaming, begging for some sort of mercy, and there was this horrible ripping sound that was like velcro except he knew without a doubt it couldn't be velcro and that made him sick. Then there was prickling, like the sound glass made when it got too hot, and he was thrown back.

His body skidded across the earth. By some miracle, he avoided falling into the chasms. For several minutes, Ben couldn't see anything but white - so great had been Mal's explosion in front of him. But then he started to make out shapes again and could see the fuzzy outlines of the ground.

Someone took his shoulders and hoisted him to his feet. Ben gasped for breath. He could see the outlines of someone with a vest. "I can't see," he gasped as they tried to set him upright. "Give me a minute. Where's Audrey? Where's Maleficent? Where's Mal?"

"Over here," Jay replied gruffly. "Audrey's fine. Maleficent… we're not sure but there's a lot of blood over here so we're assuming she's… gone. Mal is… down."

"Down?" Ben repeated. He rubbed his eyes and the white shapes took on a bit more color. Jay turned him around and he spotted - off in the distance - purple. He tossed aside Jay's help and stumbled over the ground, where he almost tripped over the edge of a crater that had appeared around Mal.

He gradually was able to see where the bumps in the path were and that helped as he hurried to her side and dropped to his knees. She was lying spread-out and was very, very pale. He felt up and down her neck with nimble, numb fingers. No beat. No thrumming anything. No pulse.

"Jay? Evie?" Ben began to shout. "Carlos? Uma? I can't get a pulse!"

Pale hands budged him aside. It was Audrey, looking grimy and exhausted and with a hot bit of rock that had melted onto her ear. She waved him aside and felt up Mal's neck with one hand before reaching down to press her fingers at her wrist. "We need to try CPR," she whispered. Her voice was hoarse from breathing all the charred smoke.

"We already tried," Uma announced, coming up behind them with a shake of her head. "She's cold, guys. She burned herself out breaking that spell."

Ben sat back on his heels and stared down at Mal in something like shock. How could this have happened? This was… all his fault. He covered his face with his hands and exhaled, trying to let all the air out of his lungs. Oh, what would happen now? What was he going to tell Hades and Xavier when he was older?

What was he going to do?

Audrey muttered something, and Jay let out a startled sound - something between a scoff and a laugh. Ben tore his eyes off Mal, wiped them on the back of his hand, and looked to her. "What?" he gasped. "I missed that."

Audrey pulled her ponytail out of her hair, staring at the ground as she did. She raked her fingernails up and down her scalp. "True Love's Kiss," she mumbled. "Works every time."

Ben's mouth fell open. Was it… Audrey who had suggested that? Audrey, whose mouth had curled with jealousy when he went to see his mother and Audrey who was paranoid about everyone everywhere?

"Worth a shot," Evie muttered. "Old magic - might work."

"Audrey," Ben whispered. "You…" He trailed off when the words wouldn't come.

Audrey got to her feet, shaking a little, and stepped back. "Go on, Ben," she nodded. "Just give it a shot."

Ben stared. Evie, Uma, Carlos, and Jay all stepped a little closer to see. Ben's hands were shaking.

He slowly picked her head off the ground. She was stiff even though she hadn't been lying there for long. He kept his eyes on Audrey, but Audrey focused on Mal. Finally, he followed her gaze down.

Mal's mouth was shut and her eyes closed. Her cheeks seemed hollow as if there was no fat in them. Slowly, he leaned down and brought her up. Then he let his lips brush against hers. Nothing more than that.

It wouldn't work. The only reason he was doing it was because he'd wanted to kiss Mal at least once more ever since he left and because everyone was gathered around, expecting him to. He and Mal had known each other for mere months and no matter how electrifying and alluring she was, he couldn't call it love. Couldn't - it wasn't reasonable - there was no way -

Then Mal took a gasp underneath him and that train of thought stopped in its tracks. Her eyes snapped open and one hand seized his shoulder in a vice grip to support herself. Ben sat back up - half in surprise and half in fear that she'd smite him to the ends of Auradon. "It worked?" he asked.

Mal felt her mouth, apparently as shocked as he was.

"Mal!" Evie sank to her knees and took Mal's arm to help her to her feet. Ben let her go as Uma, too, came and helped her up. Mal leaned on them both for balance and continued looking back at Ben in shock. Ben didn't get up - he felt like his brain had flatlined and there was no shock that could revive it. Jay let out a breath and Carlos chuckled at his shock, then they both glanced at Audrey. Ben did too.

Audrey stood with her weight mostly on her right leg and her entire face unresponsive. She kept her arms crossed over her ribs as if bracing for a hit there. Ben swallowed. "Audrey?" he whispered and got to his feet. He reached for her hands, but she refused him. For several long moments, they stood at ends, and then Audrey relaxed and let Ben take her hands again. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I really am - I swear this doesn't mean-"

"I'm glad she's okay," Audrey cut him off. "And I'm glad Maleficent is gone. Let's go home."

* * *

The Villain Kid's city had been completely flattened to nothing but charred earth. Not even rubble stood in the places where Evie's home, the pavilion, or even Mal's giant fortress had been. Every toy and tool had been incinerated and every foundation turned over. Even the river had been dried up and overturned as if nothing had ever actually been there. Mal observed it all with dead eyes, avoiding Ben and keeping Xavier close to her chest. Most people avoided her with the same casual hate and fear that Ben had noticed in small amounts when he'd first come to them. After all, she'd destroyed the only home they'd ever had. Nothing was left except for a barren wasteland.

Evie cried with her face buried in Doug's shoulder. No eye was dry as everyone shuffled through the dust, looking for something - anything - they could salvage.

"Can't you just magic it all back?" Someone snapped at Mal and she flinched away from them, covering Xavier's ears from the loud sound.

But even Mal's magic had temporarily gone offline. When she'd broken the spell, she'd overdone it. It'd probably be a long time before she could start using it again without hurting herself.

Ben stayed by Audrey's side, keeping his hand in hers as often as she'd let him, and trying to avoid Mal just as much as she was avoiding him. Every second was pain and confusion.

The sun was setting when shouts came over the bluff. A line of horses came and Ben recognized the familiar coat of arms on the shields. "Chad!" he shouted. His voice echoed through the nothingness. "Over here!"

Chad had, of course, seen the Arendelle Mountains be flattened. They'd amassed an army to investigate once everything had stopped. And now it was Cinderellasburg's job to liberate the royal family plus every single villain child in the area.

"Where do we take them?" Chad asked, flabbergasted once he'd heard Ben's basic explanation.

"Out," Ben said simply. "Fill the hotels and inns in Arendelle and Cinderellasburg first. I'll take the rest to Auradon." He paused. "If they need doctors - any of them - it'd probably be best to take them with me. Out of the three of us, we have the most doctors per person."

Audrey laid a hand on Ben's shoulder and squeezed it. "I want to take Belle back to the palace to get her leg checked now," she whispered. It was the first thing she'd said to him since suggesting Ben kiss Mal. "Are you coming with?"

"No," Ben shook his head. "I… need to see everyone else out. Can you take her safely?"

"I can," Audrey agreed.

"Okay." Ben leaned down to kiss Audrey's cheek out of force of habit and she stopped him with an open palm. Then, straightening herself and righting her frame, she extended a hand instead. Ben shook it, more than a little confused.

"Chad." Audrey held a hand to signal their old friend. She pointed along the way to Mal. "That woman is very weak. She'll need a horse to get out. Find one for her."

The sun set and the night grew dark. Ben saw Audrey and Belle off with the first wave of people heading to Auradon. He tried to keep an eye on Mal every time he walked past to make sure she was handling things okay and that she didn't need any help with Xavier, but when the sun rose she was gone with lots of the others.

It took three days to get everyone out. Supplies were called in, but it was still a way away from Cinderellasburg and Arendelle even with the new paved area that Mal had created in her storm. The sun was blistering without any kind of trees or protection. The concrete building still stood, and it was here that most resided and shied away from the sun.

Finally, Chad put the reigns of the last horse in Ben's hands and told him that he was it - everyone else had gone. Ben and Chad exchanged numb thank-yous before Ben began the trek back to Auradon with a few guards to keep him safe and make sure he wouldn't be ambushed on the way.

The trip gave him time to think: What was going to happen to his families? How was he ever going to fix things with Audrey now? What was he going to do about Mal?

He found Audrey asleep in the master bedroom when he arrived at two in the morning. He stood in the doorway and watched her for a moment and then turned to sleep on the couch instead. The next thing he knew, the sun was shining in his eyes and an outside breeze was blowing through his hair.

Audrey was sitting in a chair across from him. He sat up slowly so he wouldn't startle her and ran a hand down his face. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied.

"You're up late."

"What time is it?"

"One. When did you get home?"

"Two." Ben yawned and stretched his arms out in front of him. "Where's Belle?"

Audrey chewed on her cheek. "With the other kids," she muttered. "There's about twenty left, though your mom and I have been placing them into foster families."

Ben stared at her incredulously. "You've been working with my mom?" he asked. Audrey nodded without a change of face. That was unnerving. He was used to knowing exactly what she was thinking based on her face and eyes. He sighed. "Did her leg get checked out?"

"Yes," Audrey replied. "It's a very, very bad break. Of course, we knew that but…" She turned a page of a book in her lap. Ben blinked - he hadn't realized she'd had it. When was the last time Audrey had read anything? "She'll need physical therapy. And now that Mal's hypnosis spell as worn off, she's in a bunch of pain. They're going to do a second surgery because they think one of her nerves is like… messed up in her leg. Should be fine after lots of work, but they've still got to do a decompression surgery."

Ben swallowed hard. Audrey glanced up from her book. "I got the surgery scheduled already and she's out of school for a while. We can homeschool her until she's good enough to go back."

"Sounds reasonable," Ben agreed. "What about you?"

"I…" Audrey took a deep breath. "Evie and Uma were right. Hypoglycemia. It's… insane that something so small caused so much damage. But essentially, Belle wasn't in my belly in the best position, and so she cut off some of the blood flow to my pancreas. Cue long-term damage that never got fixed. It must have started around month five or so, which is when I started feeling horrible all the time and everything. I just didn't notice it wasn't normal because I'd never had a baby before."

Ben nodded along to her words. "Do you have to have surgery too?" he asked.

"So far, no," Audrey shook her head. "They're giving me artificial enzymes to make up for what my pancreas can't do. And making me eat lots of sugary foods." She leaned her head back and sighed. "I never thought I'd get sick of Dr. Pepper," she mumbled aloud.

Ben snorted. It had been her favorite drink, ages back. "I'm sorry about… what happened out West. I never planned for… anything to happen like that."

Audrey stared at him, procured a slim stack of papers that she tucked into her book to mark her place, and set the book on the ottoman in between them. Ben traced the papers that were jutting out of the stack with his eyes. "Mal's here," she said softly. "Went to Cinderellasburg and Chad sent her in for a doctor. She's still out of magic. Doesn't come out of her room much. I went by to talk once, but she didn't want to see me. I don't blame her."

A knock came at the door. Ben turned. It was a footman, so Ben immediately started trying to straighten his hair. "Queen Audrey," they called and bowed a little. "Your carriage is waiting out front."

"Thank you," Audrey bid him before he disappeared into the hall. She turned back to Ben. "Xavier is here too. She hasn't let him out of her sight. I think she's paranoid. I get it - it's hard for me to let Belle go play - let alone not know where she is."

"I've got to figure out…" Ben put his head in his hands. "I don't know where to have her live. It feels wrong to not have her live in the palace when Xavier will have to come here anyway but it also doesn't seem quite… fitting to have her live with us here. I mean… I don't know."

"I think I can solve that problem for you," Audrey muttered.

She got up from her chair and then sat back down on the ottoman. Their knees were about three inches apart as she picked up the book and pushed it into his lap. Ben squinted at the cover. "Enchanted," he muttered. "Goodness, this story's old." He opened the book to where Audrey had marked it - near the end. In glorious full-color illustration was Robert Phillip, leaning over poor and lifeless Giselle. That made Ben pause. He studied Audrey. His wife seemed exhausted and stressed and somehow at peace with herself. "Is there something you want me to learn from this story?" he asked. The story that happened to contain the guy's fiancee telling the guy to kiss the other girl before it was too late.

Audrey gestured at the papers. They were facing the wrong way. He flipped them back over and his breath caught in his throat a little. Across the top read: "Divorce Agreement."

He looked back up at Audrey. "Is this… what you want?" he asked. "No more us?"

"When was there an us, Ben?" Audrey sighed. "You tried so hard and I… I only took advantage of that. Plus… being queen is hard. I'm not cut out for it."

"We could fix it. I'll… I'll stay, Audrey. I'll stay if you will."

"Ben, I destroyed all your friendships and your relationship with our mom and everyone," Audrey sighed. "I'm not going to ruin a literal true love for… greed." She ran a hand through her hair. "What I want is to go back to Auroria and be with my parents before they die. I already sent a message ahead to my mom. You keep your castle, I'll take my dowry and my dividends back and you keep your inheritance and we can part ways so we both have a better shot at life."

"And Belle?" Ben asked.

Audrey chewed on her cheek. "I know you love her and she's your daughter, but I was hoping you'd agree to let me have her on weekdays during the school year, and I'll bring her for weekends and breaks here unless I ask you ahead of time. We can do vice versa in the summertime."

"Would you be able to do that?" Ben asked. "With your blood sugar and everything?"

"Yeah," Audrey nodded. "We both need time to heal anyways. I was thinking I could take her for a while so you and Mal can get things sorted out and we can get this finalized. You could get married again and maybe even have more kids if you wanted. Then we could start switching her back and forth. When she gets older, she can pick and choose a little bit more."

"Are you sure you'll be able to do it? I don't want her going the way she was before… she's got to at least make her bed and clean her room."

"I'll make sure she does. You were right. She needs to do it. And I'm sure you'll keep track of her here too." Audrey put a hand on his knee and squeezed. "She needs her dad."

Ben skimmed the papers. She'd written a few things in pink pen - how neither she nor Ben could take Belle places without a little notice and who held medical responsibilities and a few other things. Audrey waited for his response and fidgeted. Finally, when he was done, he set the pages aside and pulled Audrey off the ottoman and into a hug. Tears had started running down his face at some point, though he wasn't sure when. "Thank you," he whispered in her shoulder. "I just… thank you."

Audrey patted his head. Ben sniffled and straightened up, wiping his eyes. "You… you don't have to, I swear," he said. "I meant it - I really will work things out with you if that's what you-"

"This is what I want," Audrey cut him off, putting her hand on the discarded pages before gathering them up and handing them back to Ben. "And this is what you need."

It was as if thirty elephants had been lifted off his shoulders. He took the papers carefully, well aware they contained his whole future, and wiped his eyes. "Where do I sign?" he asked.

Audrey pulled a pen out of her sleeve. She pointed out the places that required his signature and then left them on the ottoman. "Can you file them?" she asked. "You know better than I do about things like that."

"I'll take care of it," Ben agreed. He hesitated, then took his ring off his finger and offered it to her.

Audrey made a face. "I have your other one," she pointed out. "The blue one. You could keep that one and maybe use it for when you and Mal get married."

Ben chuckled softly. "Or you could use it?" he suggested. "Whenever you find someone."

A smile crossed Audrey's face. Still, she shook her head. "Keep it," she told him. "You bought it yourself. I had nothing to do with it."

So Ben tucked the ring into his pocket.

Audrey's room had been cleaned out, but Belle's remained the same. They found her with the other girls. She had a wheelchair now and a new medical doll since the old one had been incinerated. She was telling the other kids all about how she and her mom were going to go on a long vacation to visit her Grandma and Grandpa, and how she'd have two rooms. Ben didn't think the news fazed her much, though he did worry about when she got older. Hopefully, Audrey could find someone she loved, and then Belle could have two examples of real marriage instead of thinking that what he and Audrey had had was remotely close to normal.

It was odd to know he'd have two families now. One with Audrey and little Belle and one with Mal and Xavier, if she'd have him. Two parts of his life that were equally astounding.

He saw them off from the front circle in a carriage that would take them to Auroria and then headed upstairs.

Mal's door was on the left in a corridor three floors up. All the small children and adults were downstairs near the playrooms or out on the gardens, so it was silent up here. Her door was closed, but he opened it softly without a knock and saw her sitting, curled up on the window chair, with Xavier in her lap playing with toys against her collarbone. She was craning her head to see outside.

"Mal," he called and she spun around. Xavier looked up, startled, then turned and gave Ben the wide-eyed "how-dare-you" stare for disturbing the peace. Ben laughed and stepped inside.

Mal swung her feet off the window seat and used the wall to stand up. "Ben," she replied and glanced at the door to see if anyone was behind him. "I didn't know you were back."

"Surprise," Ben muttered. He kept walking forward until he was able to rest a hand on the bedpost a few feet from her. "You feeling better?"

"I am," Mal agreed. "Is everyone out?"

"They are," Ben nodded. "What have you been up to?"

"Settling things." Mal ran a hand through her hair. "My, uh, dad came to see me. I don't know if I said anything, but, uh…"

"Hades," Ben agreed. "Where is he now?"

"Downstairs," Mal's voice wavered. "We… sorted a few things out. He's going to come and visit Xavier and I… but he's also going to go back to the Underworld. Says he has a special place for my mom's soul." She swallowed and leaned against the wall. "As soon as I'm able to… move and everything again… I'll be out of your hair."

"To where?" he asked.

"Back west," Mal mumbled. "It's not good for me to be around you and Audrey and…" she sighed. "I'll let Xavier come back, but…"

"They're not going to rebuild. The land is uninhabitable. They've started integrating the villain kids into society. People seem to like them a lot." Ben crossed his arms and took a step closer to her. "If you want to go, fine, but I was hoping I could convince you to stay."

Mal closed her eyes. "Ben, you picked Audrey. I respect that."

"We're done."

"Who's done?"

"Audrey and I." Ben pointed out the window. In the far distance, the carriage was visible. "She asked to get out. She wants to live with her parents and doesn't want to be a queen and wants to spend more time with Belle."

"What?" Mal's tone was disbelieving. She took a step to peer outside the window and Ben stepped up behind her. When she turned to see what he was doing, he picked her up. She and Xavier together. She shrieked a little as he sat them down on the bed. Somehow, his hand found her hand and he squeezed hard.

"Listen," he gasped, kneeling down on the floor as Xavier held onto her shirt for dear life. "I've never done this before in my life - you know I haven't - and I don't have a ring for you but I need you to know that I _love_ you, Mal Bertha. Really, I swear it. And I know I'm lousy and I never checked up on you all those months and it's been hard for you but if you give me the chance I swear I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you and Xavier. Will you please, _please, -"_

"_Yes!"_ Mal cut him off, ripping her hand out of his and dropping to the ground beside him. She set Xavier on the ground, where he sat and looked very stunned with everything happening, and leaned in to kiss Ben. When she tried to pull away, Ben put a hand to the back of her head to keep her there. She was crying; he was crying; Xavier was starting to whine because he didn't know what was going on. Ben pulled her onto his lap and then picked up Xavier too to squeeze them both to his chest.

His true love. His true love and their son. And their start at a new life.


	42. Ice Cream Social

**Ice Cream Social**

* * *

**Some people came off the island and came to Auradon. And some of them came off the island, but then brought the Isle with them. When Mal starts to slide back into her Isle Mindset, Ben calls Hades to take her out. A little bit of ice cream and a lot of panicking later, he starts to get to the bottom of it.**

**AKA Hades and Mal family feels.**

* * *

Ben pressed the housekeys into her hand. "Go," he urged, nodding to the door.

Mal bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder. In the doorway was a tall, pale-skinned man with long, dark robes. His blue hair was currently cold with no flames to speak of as he waited.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Just out," Hades replied. His voice was soft – a little tired? She wasn't sure.

"But…" she turned back to Ben, chewing on her lip. "Zach just woke up. What if he starts crying? Or someone comes by?"

"I'm here," Ben reminded her. He put his hand up to her face to cup her cheek. "Listen, I got him. I won't let anything hurt him. Hades is going to take you out for the day. You need to be away from the castle."

"You have meetings," Mal protested. Ben's hands moved to her arms as he began to guide her towards the door. "Don't you? We can't leave him alone – he'll hate us!"

"He's six weeks old, Mal," Ben sighed. There were traces of exhaustion in his voice, but they weren't from any lack of sleep. Zach would routinely wake up once every night and Mal was so keen on him that Ben was never able to hear the crying before his wife had woken up and stolen the baby from under his nose. "Listen, you need to go and be away for a little bit. I've got Zach – don't you trust me with him?"

Mal's eye twitched. "Yes, of course. You always take good care of him, but Ben, don't you think-"

Hades put an arm around Mal's shoulders and her arguments ended in a little squeak. Her eyes were still wide though, and she stopped focusing on Ben and let her attention fix on a point over his shoulder. Ben carefully stepped in between her and the baby swing before she could summon it. Hades continued edging her out.

"You've got the-"

"I've got everything Mal."

"And you know where the-"

"I know where everything is, Mal."

"And if he starts to-"

"Mal. I live here. He's my son too. I promise you I know how to take care of him and I know how you like to do things with him."

Mal's lower lip trembled. Hades opened her hand for her and put another ring of keys in it. "Go on, go start the car. My son-in-law and I are going to talk for a minute."

"I want to say bye!" Mal burst back past the doorframe in a sudden panic and rushed back past Ben before he could catch her. With one arm out where Mal had passed through two seconds before, Ben took a long, slow, deep breath. Hades pressed his lips together.

"It's this bad?" he asked softly, nodding to where Mal was kneeling on the ground in front of the baby swing.

Ben pressed both hands together in front of his face and took another deep breath. "At least she's not refusing to be around him _and_ doing this," he reasoned. "But yeah, she's been like this for the last two months. Worse at night and when anyone comes around."

"And when you say anyone…"

"She cried when my mom picked him up for a photo."

"Did you film it?"

"Evie did. It was funny at first, but after a month of her still being in shock and everything…" Ben glanced over his shoulder, shaking his head. Mal was chewing on her lip on the floor with one hand balanced out as if she was going to brush her fingers down Zach's cheek. Ben knew she wouldn't – she was terrified to touch him.

"Well, at least she likes him-"

"No, she's terrified of him."

"She can't be terrified of her own-"

"She thinks she's giving off some sort of invisible influence that is going to corrupt him and make him evil."

Hades went silent, staring between Ben and Mal as if they both had two heads. Ben sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I think… she's going back into some sort of Isle state. She's… jumping whenever anyone enters the room, she's not sleeping or eating or taking care of herself, she's _obsessing _over everything about him… it's bad. It's like… she's literally become a dragon protecting her horde, and she's reverting back to when she had to protect everything she owned and fight everyone around her."

"What?" Mal called from in front of the swing. They'd been whispering, but the word "fight" had her swiveling around to focus. "What's wrong? Is someone coming?"

"No, we just need to head out," Hades replied. Ben sighed and walked over to the baby swing. He forced his arm through Mal's and turned her away from the cooing, content baby in the swing. Mal allowed herself to be turned around but then began trying to twist back around to make sure Zach was okay. Only Ben's arm kept her moving forward as she craned her neck to make sure nothing had happened to Zach in the five seconds she'd been facing the other way.

Hades took her other arm as soon as she was close enough and forcibly helped her over the doorframe. "C'mon, Mallie. I haven't seen you since Zach was born – we're going to go out and Ben is going to have some father-son time with him. It'll be really good for the kid – you want him to be attached to his dad, right?"

"Yes, Ben's great with him, but-" Hades had to take her other arm to keep her from wiggling out of his grip. "Do we have enough diapers at home? Maybe we should send out for more."

"No, we're okay Mal," Ben used his foot to edge her foot out into the hall. "You're going out with your dad and he's going to stay here with me."

"Does he have enough blankets? What if he gets cold and gets sick and-"

"Mal, it's summer. He's fine."

"Does he still have his gloves so he doesn't scratch-"

"Goodbye, Mal."

The door shut with a rather final thud and Hades heard Ben turn the lock. Mal began to hyperventilate. In theory, if she wasn't panicking as much as she was, she could have easily gotten away from him and used an unlocking spell and then he and Ben would really have been in trouble, but as it was, she was easy enough to lead down the hall and into the front hall of the palace.

"What happens if he starts to cry and Ben doesn't know what to do?" Mal babbled as they got to the front steps, only about ten feet from the car. She began to show a little resistance now, refusing to move her feet as she continued looking back over her shoulder. "What if he needs me?"

"Oh, now Ben knows what he's doing," Hades held her arm a little tighter as he continued pulling her towards the car. "He taught you how to hold him, remember?"

"Yes but maybe he forgot-"

Hades opened the door and helped her in. He pushed the lock down on her door before he closed it, which was a good thing because, by the time he'd gotten in on his side, she was already trying to open it.

"Hey," he snapped a little and grabbed her hand to squeeze as he quickly put the car in gear. "Ben's got this. He has everything he needs. And you and I are going to go out for ice cream."

They started rolling and Mal let out a little breath as the front door slowly moved out of sight. "Yes, okay," she agreed in a tiny voice before fumbling over her shoulder for the seat belt. "Ben's got this."

"He does," Hades agreed. He watched her settle down a little bit more, wringing her hands and shaking as she took a few deep breaths.

They got out of the palace and Hades figured her anxiety had leveled off as much as it was going to. He drummed his fingers on the wheel – would it be better to start a conversation about Ben or about being the queen or about Zach or what?

"What's on your mind?" he asked finally.

Mal let out a little laugh. "Oh, I'm just worried about Zach," she replied, holding a hand to her head. "He's just so little and I don't want anyone coming by while I'm gone."

"I'm sure Ben won't let anyone in."

"Well, he might. He's not as cautious as I am."

"I saw an article about how you didn't want to let anyone around him. Exceptional Exposure said you were hoarding the crown prince from the public."

"Oh wow… the public can go screw itself… he is not even two months old, he has the rest of his life to be their crown prince, and they do not need to pester my baby."

Hades laughed and then chewed on his cheek. "I remember your mom didn't want anyone else to see you after you were born either."

Mal almost jumped right out of her skin. "What?" she demanded. Her skin was pasty white.

Hades realized he might have touched on a bad subject. "Well, she just didn't want to share you." He tried to laugh it off. "She used to cuddle with you for hours while you slept."

Mal relaxed a little, but she'd seized the door handle and didn't seem intent on releasing it soon.

"I think it's something a lot of new moms do," Hades continued. "They're just new and hard to share."

Mal nodded slowly. "I just… worry that something will happen if I leave him," she agreed.

"Well, Ben's got this. He's, you know, "the guy". The one who is good with kids and knows how to calm them down and he's good with them. He'll be fine."

Mal chewed her cheek, nodded, and turned to look outside the window. Hades watched her out of the corner of his eye as she traced the outlines of the passing buildings and looked sad. After a minute, he leaned over and poked her. "Do you not like that Ben's good with him?"

Mal spun so fast he was surprised her head didn't pop off and keep going. "No!" she exclaimed. "Oh, no! Ben is.. wonderful. He knows just what to do and say and he's so, so, so… _good._ I'm just… not."

"You're not good?" he repeated. Mal shook her head, glancing down at her lap and twiddling her thumbs. He had a feeling they weren't talking about good as in "being good at something" but rather "good and bad".

"Mallie, you know good and evil don't really exist, right?"

"Well, of course they don't… it's just… sometimes they do."

"What's that mean?"

Mal chewed on her cheek more. What would he do if she happened to bite right through it? Was that possible? How would that even be treated?

They took an exit off the main road and pulled into the drive-in of a cheap family diner. They were only about fifteen minutes from the palace even if Hades thought Ben was more likely to reinstate the barrier and murder his own father than be forced to call Mal for help.

Mal still hadn't answered, so Hades busied himself with rolling down his window and reading the menu to her. "There's vanilla and peach and chocolate – oh look, you can get them with candy coating. Do you want strawberry or birthday cake or-"

"Maybe I should call Ben and make sure everything's okay-"

Hades snapped his hand out to catch her wrist as she pulled her phone out of her jacket. He slowly wrenched it from her fingers and then tucked it into the driverside door, making sure the screen was facing away so she couldn't use magic to make the touchscreen react. "There's also cherry and butterscotch," he finished.

Mal's lower lip was jutting out, but she turned her focus to the dimly-lit plastic board of options and sighed. "Maybe the peach and strawberry option?" she asked.

"Still craving fruit?"

Mal blushed. "Yeah."

Hades pulled forward to the little black speaker box with the hexagonal opening in it. "Hello, we'd like to order some ice creams-"

"Let me know when you're ready to order."

"We like to get some-"

"Hold on sir, you're not coming through clearly."

"Can you hear me-"

"What would you like to order?"

Mal giggled as Hades huffed in annoyance. She leaned past him and gave her order to the black box. For some reason, her voice was more compatible with the hexagon. When Hades still couldn't talk straight, she gave them his order too.

Maybe they didn't have a great speaker, in Hades' opinion, but they did have pretty fast service. A tiny drive later and with a few fumbling interactions, Mal was balancing two rather tall cones as Hades tried to exit the driveway without committing curbicide. He growled when the wheels protested a particularly tight turn and Mal giggled when the back wheel thumped up and over a grate.

"Ben told me that there was a nice little park over this way-"

"Maybe I should call him now?"

"Mallie, it's been twenty minutes."

Mal guarded the ice cream from the sunlight carefully as Hades circled the street and the parking lot twice before finding the park hidden behind a wall of thick trees. The two left the car parked as straight as they could between two crooked lines of paint and got out. Mal hesitated before closing her car door. "Can I check my phone to make sure…"

Hades closed the door for her. "I've got my phone. If the palace burns down, you can see it from here. Otherwise, Ben will probably call me first."

They walked for maybe thirty seconds underneath the trees before finding some park benches. Originally, Hades had planned on making Mal walk a little bit more to keep her mind off Zach, but walking turned out to make it harder to focus on eating ice cream, so they stopped and listened to the wind blow through the trees around them. Kids were laughing nearby – this park had a playground.

"You could probably walk here with Zach from time to time," Hades hummed as he picked off bits of the candy coating to snack on. "He'd probably love that."

Mal hummed in agreement. "We wouldn't have to bring guards," she agreed. "The palace doesn't usually make me take guards. Just Ben."

"I think that says a lot."

"It does, doesn't it?"

Hades flicked a bit of candy at her. It was so hot out here that even the coating was starting to melt. A bit of white stuck to her cheek, which she wiped away as she rolled her eyes. "Why is Auradon so hot and green and.." he threw his head back and let a demonic growl escape his throat. A passing jogger jumped, looked around, and kept going.

Mal laughed. "It took me a long time to get used to how bright it is here. Sometimes I still catch myself squinting."

Hades nodded. "Auradon is weird."

"Auradon is weird."

"I just don't understand them."

"I never have either."

Hades chewed on his cheek. "It's… odd," he said. "Some people just… came off the island and came to Auradon. And some of us came off the island, but then we brought the Isle with us."

Mal's hand shook a little as she bit off the top of her cone. She traced the green coating of the metal chain-link table. "That's me," she whispered. "I know I'm in Auradon, I think I act Auradon, but then something happens and I realize that part of me is just always stuck on that island, trying to get out of the barrier."

"It's tough."

"It is tough."

"Everyone always thinks I'm crazy."

"I'm so afraid I'm going to hurt Zach because of it."

There was a silence then. It was an odd silence that was so… palpable it's almost like someone set an object in front of them. An object of silence.

"Mallie, you're doing really good with him. Everyone says so."

But Mal sniffed and wiped her eyes with her wrist. "I… I don't know."

"I know. Ben knows. Heck, even Zach knows. Ben says you're his favorite person."

Mal shook her head. "I swear I'm doing my best but… I just think I'm too much like mom to do this."

"Now listen, I know Maleficent wasn't the easiest person to get along with, but she was a good mom to you. A really good mom. She cuddled you and sang and-"

"No, she wasn't a good mom." Mal set her cone down and held her hands to her head. "She wasn't… maybe she was good at first, but she wasn't good when I needed her to be."

Hades reached across the table. Mal put her hand in his and squeezed it a little. "You talk to her lately?" he whispered.

Mal shook her head. "Not since I found out I was pregnant. She was just… I knew what she would say. So I never went and told her or anything. She probably knows now, of course, but I didn't say anything."

"What did you think she'd say?"

"The same thing she's been saying for years. Every time I've gone to visit her ever since I got married it's been the same thing. How I'm making a huge mistake and turning my back on her and Ben isn't in this for the long run and all my children will be exactly like me and-"

"If all of your children turn out exactly like you, I think you and Ben should count yourselves lucky."

Mal sobbed. She took her hand back and covered her face and began to cry. Hades was up out of his seat and over to her side of the table before she could even finish putting her head down to hide her tears.

"I can't do this," she sobbed. "I can't even… what if there's still evil in me? What if it got to him somehow? I don't want to make it worse and I don't want him catching anything from me… but I can't leave him when he's so small and he needs me…"

"There is no evil in you," Hades protested. He tried to pull her into a sitting position so he didn't have to hug the table to get his arms around her. "Mal, you are a good person."

"I can't possibly be a good person," Mal disagreed. "And Zach… how can I be a good mom? I don't know what a good mom is. Ben has Belle and Adam and he's perfect and _good_ but I've got Maleficent and-"

She broke down more, leaning into his shoulder. Hades rubbed her back slowly. "What'd she do to you?" he whispered.

He meant the question rhetorically, but then Mal's breath caught and shuddered and he realized then what Ben had meant about her going back into an Isle state. Her mind was jumping back to always having to be on her guard, always having to protect what was hers. She'd never been a mom before and so she'd naturally retreated to remembering what _her_ mom was like and trying to avoid that.

Hades rubbed her back to try and calm her down. "Mal," he whispered to try and bring her back to Auradon. "What happened? What'd she do?"

"She wasn't good," Mal whispered against his shoulder. "She wasn't… Ben's been trying to help me…"

"What'd she do?"

There was a lot of sniffling as Mal tried to calm back down. "I'm sorry, I'm just-" she wiped her nose on the napkins that had been given to them with their ice creams. Her peach ice cream was leaking out through the strawberry coating in little streams onto the pavement. "There was a lot. And I thought I was past it, but these last few weeks have been hard."

Hades put a hand on her knee and squeezed. "Talk," he urged.

A few deep breaths. "She would… she'd leave me alone for long times… just in my room or in… she had this other room where she'd keep me and I wasn't allowed to leave."

"Allowed?"

"Well, the one room had chains so I couldn't leave-"

"Chains?"

"Ben was mad too."

Ben was mad too? Just mad? He reasoned that Mal was likely downplaying the explosion Ben had had but geesh, Hades was a lot more than "mad" right now.

"What kind of a room?"

"A dark one. She had a lantern she'd bring whenever she'd come in and do stuff."

"Do stuff?"

"She wasn't a good mom, dad. She wasn't."

There was this deep and burning rage that was rising inside his chest. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with child abuse before – people around the world had routinely left infants to die in fields and the Greeks had seen honor in assaulting young boys in particular, but he had also had to deal with the Polynesian people who tossed infants to sharks and the Babylonian people who auctioned their children off to brothels and the Hebrews who both slit the throats and stoned their raped daughters and the general crazy people who drove families off cliffs and threw children into walls. And yes, he'd put all those people into their proper places in the underworld. But there was a different rage felt here, when he'd trusted that woman with his daughter and was now finding she'd been locked in a room for-

"How long?"

"Well, it happened a lot for as long as I can remember…"

"No, I meant how long would she leave you there."

Mal wiped her eyes with her fingertips. "Usually just a few days."

"A few-"

"I know, I know. I know it's not normal, I just… that's what it was." Mal seemed to be finding a little bit of stability as she kept talking. "I talk to Ben and I know what a normal childhood _should_ look like – I just didn't have one."

"She left you in a room for days?"

"That room or my room. My room was usually for… other people though."

"Other people?"

No answer, meaning an answer he didn't want.

"Mallie, she didn't-"

"That's what it was, Dad. That's how our world was. I didn't see anything wrong with it."

"How many?"

"Geesh, dad, it's not like I counted. It was just part of life. I didn't even understand the concept of rape until Carlos and Evie were talking to-"

"I can't believe it." He sat back, letting his arms fall back from her. His wrist hit the table and – ouch, that hurt – but he didn't even react.

Mal set a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. It was forever ago. Really."

"I trusted her with you."

"Well, you don't need to anymore."

He glanced over at her as she finished drying the rest of her tears. She took several deep breaths. He felt like he needed some too, but his head was more focused on drafting the perfect eternal punishment for Maleficent than it was on something subsidiary like the anger that was overpowering everything in him.

"I don't, do I?"

"No. That's Ben's job now."

"Well, at least he does a better job of looking after you." Wait. "Does he?"

"He does." She let a little bit of broken laughter escape. "And he's been working with me on all of this. I know he's been frustrated with me these last few weeks, but he knows I'm trying."

"You are trying. And you're doing good."

"I'm trying."

"You are good."

"I'm trying."

He set his hand back on her knee and squeezed. Mal put her hand atop his and squeezed back. Then there was a plop as her ice cream tipped over on the table and the last of the candy coating smashed through the green chain links. "Oh, shoot," Mal sighed. "Well, it was a lot of ice cream, I guess."

"Mal," Hades called. She turned and focused on him. Her eyes were red now from crying, which made the green stand out more. He leaned forward and wiped a few more tears out from under her lashes. "You literally gave up an entire belief system after five days of trying something new. You stepped up to be the future queen of a country you'd hated all your life for a boy you'd known six months. You took that country's safety and put it on your own shoulders and then fought tooth and nail to help everyone on both sides of that barrier for the last six or so years. If Maleficent could be one of the worst parents on that Isle and raise you, then Zach doesn't need to worry about any… residual evil from his grandmother. Whatever tough-stuff you've got in you, he's got in him. And he's got a better mom than you did, so he'll make it. No problem there."

Mal let out a little laugh. Her gaze darted down to the ground though, so Hades tugged her chin back up. "Evil doesn't exist," he whispered. "And even if it did, you work through it just fine. He can too. And that's not even taking into account the fact you've got a pretty awesome partner too."

"He is pretty great, isn't he? I got lucky."

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves."

She laughed a little more and a few more tears escaped, but Hades wasn't too worried about them. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him again. Behind them, the steady "plip… plip… plip," of the melting ice cream could be heard. Another crash came as Hades toppled to the ground. They sat in silence, drawing off each other's weakness until something vibrated in Hades's pocket. Mal made a face at the offending noise and then sat straight up. "Is it Ben?" she demanded.

Hades sighed and fished in his robes for the device. He still wasn't used to carrying it around, but it had a cute picture of his grandkid and daughter on the front and that made him a little more fond of it.

"It is Ben," he affirmed. "It says he has sent me an attachment."

"An attachment?" Mal craned her head to read over his shoulder. "Why is his name 'Daughter Thief'?"

"Because 'Mal's unfortunate temporary assistant' was too long for a first name."

"Temporary?"

"Your vows said until death do you part. I didn't make the rules!" He passed the phone over to her. It was a photo of Zach, lying on his belly on Ben and Mal's bed and smiling at the camera. His eyes, which were Mal's pale-green without any magic behind him, were focused on the camera. Mal let out a happy sigh against Hades's arm.

A message came through. "Don't show Mal if she's still freaking out but you can have this photo to add to your stash."

Hades snorted. "She's okay."

A long pause, probably where Ben was debating what Hades meant by "okay".

"Really?"

"I'll try and keep her out a bit longer, but yeah." (Mal snorted and poked him for that message.)

"She's not worried that the press will break in and smother him?"

"She's calm."

"Unbelievable."

Mal hummed against Hades's arm. He put the phone away and ran his fingertips down her arm once. She closed her eyes. He laughed. "What, did worrying about him for six weeks straight wear you out?"

She shook her head and yawned. "I just want him to be okay," she mumbled.

Hades chuckled and watched as the heat got to her and she drifted away. "If he's anything like his momma, he won't go wrong."

Five minutes of silence. A palpable silence, but this time somewhat comforting. Like someone had dropped a blanket of silence over them. The ice cream stopped its "plip… plip… plip," as it dried. Eventually, Hades picked Mal up and carried her to the car. Put the air conditioning on and they drove around for a little longer before Hades pulled back up to the palace and carried her back in. Ben had to unlock the door before he could wander in and put her onto their bed. By that time, tiny prince Zach had also fallen asleep, so they put him beside Mal on top of all the covers and put a light blanket on them before turning on the fan and letting them both sleep.

"Thanks again for taking her out," Ben sighed after the door was shut. "She's been… ramping herself up for weeks."

"It was good," Hades nodded. "Nice to talk to her."

"You work magic. Seriously. She wasn't even listening to me anymore. I mean, you saw her…"

"Yeah. She was out there."

They both shifted awkwardly in the door. "Well, have a nice day," Ben said.

"You too, Daughter-Thief."

"Wait, does that mean I can call you-"

"No."

Back out the front door; he was drumming his hands on his legs. The car was still running – he put it in gear and headed out. The route home was memorized, but so was another route. Soon, he was peering up at a different government building.

Big white walls and barbed wire would mean nothing – visiting hours were still happening. Somewhere inside was a fae woman with black horns and evil in her blood who had a lot to answer for. He could wander in and request to see her. They could sit her down with clear glass and a telephone for them to talk to each other. He could interrogate her on everything she had done and let her know exactly where she was going when she died.

But then he was leaving again before anything had happened.

Mal would be fine. He would be too.

And he wasn't going to waste any more of his time with that crazy witch.


	43. Wrecked pt 1

**This story is a collaboration with Harry Potter Fan 1994 and is being published on A03 and Fanfiction network in more broken-up segments. **

** s/13659496/1/Wrecked(Paste behind web address to find story.)**

**Wrecked**

* * *

(Chapter 1)

Mal drew thick, dark lines into the wall mural of Jay. She focused particularly on the contour of his shoulders and long, streaky hair. Rain pattered down on the roof and rolled off into the streets below. The door onto the scaffolding was shut, and the window blockaded with cardboard and duct tape. Outside, it had been raining for two days. It was late October, so the precipitation was a mixture of dirty water and grey slush. God bless the barrier for preventing air circulation and giving everyone on the Isle garbage-infused rain.

They weren't freezing, mostly thanks to Evie who made their clothes and kept them warm, and Jay for hauling cardboard and tin sheets on top of their roof to help seal it up. Mal had been layering for the last three days. Tank top on long-sleeve shirt on short-sleeved shirt on Evie's special Isle jacket. Carlos, Jay, and Evie were also layering. Right now, her team was huddled in a small spread of ratty blankets amid the few mattresses they'd managed to pilfer. Carlos was fiddling with one of his gadgets, Evie was embroidering something, and Jay had leaned back, pulled his beanie over his eyes, and gone to sleep.

As Mal added a vibrant blue color over the emblem on Jay's jacket, she heard a panicked gasp from behind. She spun with the spray can outstretched and stared at Carlos, who was looking around in surprise. Both Evie and Jay looked equally surprised.

"Did you guys hear that?" Carlos asked in shock.

"Hear what?" Jay asked. He looked around the apartment suspiciously. Mal studied the look on Carlos's face. He looked amazed as he searched for the source of the sound he'd heard. A sense of dread spread throughout her stomach.

"It was a girl," Carlos said, sounding amazed. "She asked, 'what's your name?'"

Mal had to swallow a gulp as she lowered the spray can and pressed her arms to her sides to stop them from shaking. "No one said anything, Carlos," she said softly. "You probably imagined it."

"Or it could have been your soulmate." Evie shrugged, setting down your project. "Did you get kind of a warm or a cold feeling along your spine?"

"Yeah." Carlos nodded. "Yeah, I did. What's a soulmate?"

"Just your other half." Jay waved the question away, sitting back like everything had been resolved as Mal's grip grew increasingly tight on the can. "It's not as big as it's cracked up to be."

"I think they're wonderful." Evie's eyes turned dreamy. "I haven't had my first contact yet, but I'm sure they'll be royalty from Auradon!"

Jay snorted. "Yeah, whatever," he scoffed. "It's not automatic True Love, Evie. A soulmate is more like… your best shot at a best friend."

Carlos leaned forward, listening to every word. "What do they do? Who are they?" he asked.

"It's someone who you connect with better than any other person in existence," Jay said. "Almost everyone has one. If you get really in-tune with yours, you can actually start sharing thoughts and senses, but that's extremely rare. Most people just get to talk with theirs mentally every once in a while. You usually hear them for the first time when you're twelve to fourteen, but evidently with some people it happens a bit later." He leaned over and pinched Evie's arm, who yelped.

"You have one then?" Carlos asked. "A soulmate?"

"Yeah." Jay nodded. "I heard mine almost two years ago, back when I was thirteen. She's a girl. We talked swords for a few seconds." And, like clockwork, they looked up at Mal, who had to fight to keep the telltale colors of sickness off her face. "Do you know yours, Mal?" Jay asked.

Mal stared with wide eyes and a cold began to creep down her spine. For a moment, she thought it was dread, but then she felt her soulmate's tentative emotions creep through her and realized it was actually their connection opening. Horrible timing. She panicked. "I don't have a soulmate," she said quickly. "I've never felt a connection like what you're describing." There. Clever words.

Against her will, a deep and resounding sense of betrayal filled her. She turned back to the wall and arced the spray paint over her mural.

"_Why would you say that_?" her soulmate asked. "_That's hurtful_." Mal bit her lip as she tried to shove his feelings away like they were her own, but unfortunately, he was much more accepting of his emotions than she was. She didn't know how to explain that her own connection was unlike anything she'd ever heard about and it freaked her out. She didn't know how to tell him that she had never felt the things he felt on a daily basis and they scared her every time their connection randomly opened. She did know, however, to tell him to quit doing that in as commanding a tone as she could. It rarely worked .

_"It's a weakness. An abnormality. They could tell someone._" Mal said in a brash, stubborn tone. Not just someone, of course. If this information ever found its way back to her mother, who knew what would happen? Maleficent, the Mistress of Evil, had never had a soulmate and felt nothing but disdain for those who did. The words "weakness" and "abnormality" had fallen straight out of the Dark Queen's mouth. She was powerful, she had told Mal, because she didn't have some pathetic fool attached to her like nearly everyone else. And, she had pointed out, more people lacked soulmates on the Isle than anywhere else. To have a soulmate… it was a characteristic associated with Auradon and heroes and everything good in the world. The thought that her own daughter could have such a trait - it was too shameful to consider.

"_So what?_" he asked, just as stubbornly. Mal felt anger, hot and fierce, spike through her. She couldn't tell if it was hers or his. The more they talked, the more the emotions blurred. She heard his voice in her ears like he was standing next to her. His emotions ran under her skin in an icy stream that seemed to warm her up as it rushed by. It was strange.

"_So, I don't want to get beaten up because my soulmate and our whole connection is super freaky,_" she snapped. It wasn't just an insult. Most people had their first connection when they were twelve or thirteen, like Jay had said, but she'd had hers at the age of five. As she'd gotten older, they'd had more and more full-length conversations, which was practically unheard of. And despite that, he was secretive. She didn't know his name, his age, his parents, anything about him. Mal wondered if he was the son of a minor villain and was embarrassed by that. She could let slip who her mother was and lord it over him, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of finding out things about her when she knew nothing about him.

_"Who would beat up someone because of their soulmate? And besides, our connection's just different because -_" He stopped talking abruptly.

"_Because...?_" she asked with a furrowed brow. Realization began to dawn in her head. He knew. His guilt crept through her spine; cold and condemning. "Y_ou know?"_ she sputtered. "_You know what's wrong with us?"_

"_Nothing's wrong with us_," he corrected. Indignation began to build in her heart.

_"Oh really? So everybody blabs to their soulmate as much as you do?"_ She looked back up at the mural on the wall and realized her eyes had started to glow as she aggravated herself more and more. She quickly calmed herself down before her friends could notice.

She directed her attention to him. He had noticed something that was making him uneasy.

_"It's because you have magic,_" he said quietly. _"Really strong magic. Am I right?"_

She blinked. That hadn't been at all what she was expecting. "_Is that a problem?"_ He must have felt the power surging behind her eyes - an all too common occurrence, as anger was a very common emotion on the Isle. Mal wondered how he knew that he'd been feeling the effects of magic. Fascinating.

"_No, not at all. It's just… I think that's why our connection is so strong. I thought it was ..._" he paused. Her irritation grew into frustration. The Isle of the Lost's barrier suppressed all magic within its borders. Yet somehow, even though she couldn't use it, she got all the awful side effects. Side effects like him.

"_Whatever,_" she thought to him, officially done playing host to this mysterious voice for today. "_Whatever, whatever, whatever._" Then she screwed her eyes closed, focused, and threw him out of her mind. The chill faded in her spine. She felt a sense of accomplishment at being able to shut the door between them, even though she knew it would now be a few more weeks before she'd have the opportunity to wrench any more answers from him. That, and the next time they talked, their connection would be stronger. It always was when they learned new things about each other or about the connection. She wondered what would be different this time. Maybe she'd actually be able to shut his emotions out of her system as she could with hers?

"Jay," Carlos said, pulling her attention back to her friend's conversation. "How can I talk to my soulmate again?"

Mal groaned internally. If this was their conversation for the next hour, she was going to scream.

* * *

(Chapter 2)

The first time she'd heard that fuzzy voice, Mal had been throwing rocks at Drizella's window as a kid. Jay had been right beside her, snickering and ducking whenever a pebble rebounded on the cracked glass. She had picked up a sizable stone, wondering if it would be the one that would shatter the window, and a cold feeling began to creep up her spine. She'd paused mid-throw.

"_Hello? Can you hear me?" _The voice sounded distorted, as if it were coming from the old TV in her house. She'd been told it wasn't clear because of "bad reception", whatever that meant. Sometimes it was hard to understand the words and she had to turn the volume all the way up - but right now, there was no TV in sight. This sound was coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Who said that?" she wondered out loud.

Jay turned to look at her funny. Before he could reply, there was an explosion from above. His rock had finally broken Drizella's window. Jay was showered with glass, and he yelped in pain. While Mal laughed at him, the cold feeling disappeared and she thought nothing of it for months.

* * *

The time after that, though, she had been alone.

"_Hello? Are you there? It's me again!"_

Six-year-old Mal had nearly jumped out of her skin. She'd attributed the sudden chill to a weird draft, and had pulled her thin blanket tightly around her body. "Who's there?" she whispered into the dark, putting as much ferocity as she could muster behind her question.

"_I'm not_ there, _there. I'm your soulmate. I'm in your head._"

She gaped. Before she could respond, all of it was gone. The uncomfortable feeling in her back, the not-quite-clear conversationalist, and any certainty about her sanity. She'd heard the word "soulmate" before, though. Never in a good way. The word had rocked their house worse than thunder when her mother ranted about the weak-mindedness of the fools on the mainland. It had dropped onto the heads of many as Maleficent encouraged her followers, by example, to stone whichever soulmate-connected abominations dared walk below their balcony. It had been engraved in her head as a bad thing - a curse. And now she'd contracted it.

This would have to remain a secret for now.

* * *

"_So, who are you?_" she prodded a few interactions later. Mal was no longer startled by his appearances in her head and was able to keep her composure even if their connection opened in the middle of class. By the time she was eight, the voice had become clear as a bell. No more bad reception.

"_I'm…just a person. Like you._"

"_I mean, are you a boy, or a girl?_"

"_A boy._"

"_Tell me your name._"

"_I don't really want to._"

"_Why not?_" She allowed herself to frown, as there was no one nearby. Mal wasn't used to people defying her. Even at this young age, she cleared rooms simply by being the daughter of Maleficent.

"_Because… I like that you don't know who I am. Names have a lot of power behind them. And they mean lots of things._"

"_Oh, come on. I'll tell you mine._"

"_No, I don't want to!_" Anger filled her - but it wasn't quite her feeling it. The feeling came tinged with something foreign that made every nerve ending in her body scream '_danger_!' She jumped out of her chair and clenched her fists against the strange emotion, which was quickly replaced by fear that was very much her own. "_Hey, are you okay?_" the other person in her head asked cautiously. He sounded rather guilty. "_Sorry I got mad. I didn't mean to scare you._"

"_I'm fine, but - no, wait, I'm not. How do you know I'm not? Did you do that?_" she demanded.

"_Do what?_"

"_Did you - I don't know. But you did it, didn't you? You made me feel like...like…_"

"_What I was feeling. And I just felt what you were feeling._" His awe was unmistakable. "_That's really cool._"

"_It is _not _really cool!_" she snapped so harshly that she felt him jump back in her head. It was as if he had tripped and toppled out of sight because he suddenly left and the cold tingle in Mal's spine disappeared. She was left alone once more.

Her mother had been right. These…'connections' were curses. Someone else had access to her head - to what she was feeling, and it seemed to be getting worse. The boy was able to share his emotions with her. Disgusting. And very, very dangerous.

* * *

There was an accident when she was eleven. She and Uma's gang had been facing off against each other, as usual, this time on the deck of the Jolly Roger. Someone had tripped, a sword had swung wide, and a sandbag dangling in the air had been cut loose. It fell with a thud onto Jay, and he shouted in pain as his leg bent back in a way it shouldn't have.

They had been younger then, Uma and her, and the event spooked them. The battle ended and Mal and Carlos were allowed to carry Jay home while he yelped and cried in pain, with Evie following close behind. They had been building a hideaway - a place where they could fortify themselves - but it wasn't completed yet. So instead, they went to Mal's place.

The thing about Maleficent was that she rarely spoke or moved on her good days. She simply sat, watching the world go by, or watching people pass below her balcony, and refused to move. But on her bad days… fiery words that hit like bullets, anger that knew no bounds, curses against the Auradon government or Aurora or anything that she felt especially hateful towards that day. Sometimes, it was Mal. Other times, it was the Isle, or her henchmen, or soulmates...but somehow still ended up involving Mal.

Her mother looked near-comatose when they dropped Jay onto the couch. He shouted and Mal couldn't stop the worried power surge that burned behind her eyes. His leg looked… awful. His skin was straining against itself as a broken bone threatened to surface.

Nausea hit her in waves. She swallowed back bile. Her hands shook as she pulled the leg as straight as she could and fumbled when she reached for the long, straight pieces of wood that Carlos had dumped at her side. Across the room, Evie hurried up the steps with her arms full of white and tan bandages.

"Did you mess up?" Maleficent called from the balcony.

Mal swallowed. Her entire body felt cold and stiff. "We're fine," she responded. Her voice croaked like she'd been coughing. And her hands were icy as she tried to straighten out Jay's leg and ignore his cries.

"_Are you sick?_"

The question was bizarre to Mal. She glanced sharply over at her mother and then realized that she hadn't spoken. No one had. It was in her head.

"_Is that you?_" she demanded in her head.

"_Yes. Are you alright?_"

"_You've picked a really bad time. You need to go away._"

"_I…don't know how to._"

Mal tightened the beginnings of a first bandage around Jay's leg. He let out a deafening roar of pain. Tears pooled in her eyes as she kept working and he kept yelling. Across the room, the thumps of Maleficent's scepter began to echo.

"Pipe down!" Maleficent shouted and Jay clenched his mouth shut. Her mother shouts and Jay's screams echoed in her head.

"_Is that you?_" the boy in her head exclaimed. Even more panic filled her and her hands shook all the more.

"_No!_" she snapped mentally. "_No! No! Go away!_"

"_Are you hurt? Do you need a doctor?_"

"_Leave me alone!_"

"_I want to help you!_"

"I don't need your help!" Mal screamed, throwing her hands up to compress her head tightly. "Leave me alone!"

The room became very silent. Evie, Carlos, and even Jay were staring at her with concern. The cold crept out of Mal's spine, but it was quickly replaced with dread when her hair was seized and yanked back. She was now staring into a pair of eyes as vividly green as her own.

"What do you think you're doing?" Maleficent screeched. "Who are you talking to?"

"No one!" Mal squeaked. "No one - no one! I thought I saw Evie reaching over… I wasn't talking to anyone!"

Evie blinked, startled, and scuttled back a few feet as Maleficent's gaze swiveled onto her. "I'm sorry!" she yelped. "I didn't realize!"

Maleficent pulled harder on her daughter's hair. "If you're lying…" she growled.

"I'm not!" Mal squeezed her eyes shut. Bright lights danced in her vision as the pain in her scalp reached a nauseating level. "Who else would I have been talking to? No one else is around! Mom, lemme go!" She twisted and Maleficent released her. Mal fell back and saw stars when her head knocked into the jagged, beat-up coffee table.

Maleficent snarled a little and kicked her daughter's leg. Mal didn't react much - she was still trying to catch her breath. Then, Maleficent turned and walked towards the kitchen as if nothing had happened. Carlos and Evie both reached to help Mal up, but she batted a hand at them and hissed.

"Get back!" Mal forced herself to her knees. "Away from me! Go away! You're too close!"

"Mal?" Carlos asked softly, "What was that?"

"It was you two invading my space!" Mal snapped. "Carlos, go find ice for Jay's head. Evie, run to your mother's and see if she has anything for pain in her emporium."

There was a short hesitation and then the two got up and left. Mal continued binding Jay's leg. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip so as not to annoy Maleficent while she continued steaming at the kitchen table. _It's a good thing_, Mal thought, _that he's in too much pain to ask questions._

By the following day, everyone had forgotten. Everyone except her.

* * *

A few minutes after waking up on her twelfth birthday, Mal felt a shiver down her spine before the cold was replaced with a wonderful, contented warmth.

Mal knew the connection was open, but she didn't really understand what it was doing at the moment. Little echoes of sound were pinging around in his thoughts. Alarming, yes, but something else was bothering her. She felt...happy? But it was his happiness. She would've known that even if they hadn't been sharing emotions for months now. Mal did not feel happiness like this.

The echoes formed into snippets of the conversation he was focusing on. "_But this part… I really liked… even though Sir Arthur ruined…_"

"_What are you doing?_" she asked. She could feel his immediate surprise on the other end of the connection. He hadn't realized she was there. Interesting.

"_What - oh! It's you. Hello. I'm having lunch with my mom. Sorry, I thought the cold was just a breeze until you started talking._"

"_Lunch with your mom?_" Mal repeated. What kind of parent had lunch with their kids?

"_Yeah. I just finished her favorite book and we're talking about it. Have you ever read Guinevere and Lancelot?_" A spike of her own jealousy accosted him before he could speak further. "_Um...everything okay?_"

"_Yes,_" she huffed. "_So your mom just...what, talks to you? About books?_"

"_Why are you saying that like it's weird?_"

She rolled her eyes. "_Because it is! Whose mom just sits down with them and...I don't know, aren't you scared she'll scream at you? Or hit you?_"

There was such an extended length of silence that Mal would've thought the connection had closed, had she not been able to feel the characteristic chill in her spine. "_Does your mom do that to you?_" he inquired slowly. She didn't like the pity in his tone.

"_Maybe yours should, too, so you don't end up a complete wimp!_"

Mal could feel the boy turning this information over, processing how he felt about it. He didn't speak to her again, even though the mental link remained open. She found a quiet place in her room to wait for it all to be over. For almost twenty minutes, Mal was treated to more warm feelings of someone else's motherly love on her birthday, and she knew he could feel her trying not to cry.

* * *

Cruella De Vil was over on Tuesday, since her TV was broken and she wanted to watch the evening fashion shows. Carlos and Mal sat next to each other on a very busted couch and played card games with a soggy deck while they watched Cruella flip through shows. Maleficent was up in her room, having retired early.

"Do you think she can hear us?" Mal asked, shuffling the deck as best she could and glancing over at Carlos's mom.

"If we get loud enough, she'll turn and yell," Carlos whispered back. He took his seven cards and they began a game that Jay had invented called Murder. The goal was to avoid having two of one type of card when the sand in their broken hourglass ran out.

Mal put an ace down and Carlos put a two, and then the TV sound spiked and Cruella shouted in frustration. Her show had just gone to a commercial break.

"No one wants to hear from you, you royal piece of trash!" she screamed at the screen. "Put the Runway back on!"

"...I know I have a duty to my people, and I will - " Mal's soulmate's voice entered her head again, but without the accompanying spinal chill. Mal turned around. Had it come from the TV? But the fuzzy picture was now displaying a hairspray ad. Then it flipped to a news anchor who was also cutting to a commercial. She shook her head as Cruella mashed the remote buttons and focused on the card game.

"Spoiled brat! He's on every channel!" Cruella continued to complain loudly until her show resumed, but Carlos had beat Mal and she was too busy sulking to listen.

* * *

"Evie, please! You look fine!" whined Mal, her patience wearing thin. She just wanted to get out already. This happened with every new outfit Evie made. First it had to be fitted just right, and then she had to accessorize, and then she spread an obscene amount of half-used cosmetics scavenged from the trash across the bathroom floor to choose which shade would adorn her face. At least they were currently on stage three: makeup.

"I'm almost done, Mal!" They weren't even going anywhere special. They'd walk around, spray a few tags, maybe make a few kids cry.

The cold running down the middle of her back alerted her to the boy's presence. "_Oof. Someone's frustrated_."

"_Shut up._"

"_My mom says hi, by the way. I told her about you._"

Mal panicked momentarily, before remembering he didn't know anything about her, not really. Thank goodness they had never shared names, or her lie would be out in the open where Maleficent would undoubtedly find it. "_Why would you do that? Are you insane?_"

"_Um...no? But she says she hopes you're doing well, and she was asking if -_ "

"_I don't want to talk to your mom!_" snapped Mal. "_One mom is already enough of a problem._" That quieted him, and a hint of something morose came over her.

Mal was pulled back to the real world when Evie finally exited the bathroom, twirling a little. She'd put purple accents on with her blue outfit. "How do I look?"

"It's not the worst outfit I've ever seen you in," Mal decided.

"_Be nice_," her soulmate chided. "_And yeah, the purple does seem like a nice touch._"

She almost frowned. "_I didn't tell you that._" She hadn't even been thinking of Evie's outfit, only raking over it with a cursory glance.

"_You just whispered it to me. Didn't you?_"

"_No!_"

"_You can stop swearing - _"

"_Stop it! I'm not even saying anything to you!_"

"_Well...I hear you._" She knew he could feel how deeply disturbed she was by this. But really, how was she supposed to react? He could hear her thoughts - even the ones she didn't want to share.

* * *

"Mal, come here," Maleficent crooned from the balcony. "Come and tell me what you see."

Mal got up and wandered towards the open double doors. She grasped the balcony railing with chilled hands and peered around. There were people down below, dogs and children running through alleyways, the tops of tin-roofed dwellings and an abundance of trash heaps, but Mal knew without asking what her mother was looking at. The smog was clearer today, and they could see through the barrier, across the Bay of Separation, and straight into Auradon.

"Look at them," Maleficent muttered, even though it was impossible to see a person in Auradon from this distance. "Look at their beautiful world. Why, what perfect lives they must lead."

"For now," Mal shrugged and then glanced over at her mom. "Is it time to try again?" The last time Maleficent had attempted escape had been years ago.

Maleficent shook her head in a way that was both demure and sinister. "Not yet," she told her. "But soon. I have a plan that I'm working on… they'll never see it coming."

Mal knew better than to get her hopes up. If she had an Auradonian dollar for every time she'd heard that, she'd have enough to bribe someone to take her off this rock and to the place where there was real money to be made. "And then?" she asked.

Maleficent hummed. "I can't wait until we're free," she announced. "We'll rule that world over there, you and I."

"I can't wait to rub it in Uma's face."

Maleficent snorted and then glanced over - and down - at her young daughter. "Think bigger." She reached into her robes and withdrew something - a book - which she placed on the balcony railing and slid over to Mal. "For you," she said. "I want you to take it and memorize as much as you can."

Mal took the book and cracked the cover open, Her jaw dropped. "Your spell book?" she wondered aloud. "You're letting me have it?"

"You'll need it, one day. I've told you before that Fairy Godmother's wand is the only way off this rock, but it won't be any good without some spells to go with it." Maleficent waved a nonchalant hand. Then, she paused."I do wonder if you're truly ready, though. There are some days...you're not as evil as I thought you'd be."

Mal was shocked by the implication. "I am!" she declared. "Mom, everyone says that I'm the best - the worst - villain kid out there! I aced Evils Schemes and Plots!"

"That class is taught by that old bat, Tremaine," Maleficent rolled her eyes. "It would have been more impressive if you'd failed out completely."

Mal dropped her head. She was rather proud of her grade, but… "I've got a gang - the strongest gang on the Isle outside of… y'know… Gaston's crew."

Maleficent let out a laugh at that. "You've got friends," she spat. "You'd be more formidable if you dropped them and went at it alone. Alone is always the better way to go!"

Alone. Right. Mal took her hands off the railing and balled her fists up. Maleficent was a solo act. A one-woman party. Mal swallowed. She had one strong card left to play, and…

"I don't have a soulmate," Mal lied. "That means I'm not being dragged down by anyone else. I'm not paired with anyone because...I'm supposed to be at your side. Helping you rule." Maleficent looked down at Mal. Mal swallowed. "Isn't that enough?" she offered.

A piercing gaze raked over her. Maleficent looked away. "I suppose," she agreed in a careless manner before waving her daughter away. Mal scuttled back into the room, leaving her mother to lean against the balcony, picturing Auradon as it would look burning in green flames.

* * *

(Chapter 3)

After he'd heard his for the first time, Carlos would not shut up about the whole soulmate thing - which was really annoying, because Mal just wanted to focus on forgetting it. He seemed thoroughly fascinated. To be fair, Mal was pretty impressed with some of the things Jay and Evie described, but so much of it wasn't applicable to her situation that it was rendered nearly useless.

Walking through the alley system of the Isle one day, she felt something on the other end of her soulmate connection. It was hard to explain, but it was like an invisible thread was connected to her forehead and she could feel someone rolling the other end in their fingers. Then the connection suddenly opened, and she realized that her other half had learned to open the connection at will, which meant she had some catching up to do. His emotions flooded her for a few seconds in a dizzying mess of patterns and then stabilized. For several seconds she thought nothing, waiting for him to announce himself.

"_Yes?_" she finally asked.

"_Oh my goodness, it worked_," he gasped, sounding a bit drained.

She rolled her eyes. "_Give the man a medal. Did you need anything?_"

"_Yeah, actually. Are you Jane?_" he asked.

"_Jane? Who?_" Mal frowned deeply and began to consider the long list of people that she knew. There wasn't a single person named Jane.

"_I guess not then_." He sighed dejectedly. A strange mix of relief and disappointment filled him. "_She's someone I know. It was a long shot since she doesn't usually act like you, but I thought: she has magic, not many other people have magic, maybe you're her."_

"_Nope. Never even heard of Jane. How come you're asking who I am all of a sudden? You've never asked before._" Mal crossed her arms even though she knew it would have no effect on him. He couldn't see her; couldn't feel much else besides the effects his emotions had on her.

"_Well, I've always felt a little guilty asking you for your identity since I'm not exactly ready to share mine, but I had to know if you were Jane because I see her literally every day._" He sighed with a bit of a dry chuckle.

"_Mm-hmm. Anything else?"_ Mal shifted her weight from foot to foot. She understood him not wanting her to know him. She didn't want him to know her either. The fewer people to spread the word, the better. But still, for some reason, the thought of Jane was really starting to bug her.

"_No_," he said sadly. "_Guess not."_

"_Bye then."_ His presence slinked out of her head gradually until she was alone again. She took a deep breath and leaned against the grimy wall behind her, deep in thought. Jane. Who was Jane? She sounded like she'd be a daughter of Jafar, but Jafar didn't have daughters - just Jay and his little brother. She might be one of Gaston's since Mal knew that she didn't know all of his kids (did _he _even know all of his kids?), but Gaston couldn't possibly have a magical daughter, could he?

* * *

Nope. Mal went down to the docks to ask Gil because she was so curious about it. It killed her how her soulmate mentioning a simple name could drive her up the wall like this. What if he liked Jane? What if Jane liked him? Unhelpfully, Gil estimated that he was 80% sure he'd never heard anyone by that name in his life. Then he asked Mal what 80% was in fractions, because it was on his homework.

Mal continued drumming her fingers in agitation. She knew practically half of the Isle, more or less. And not a single person she knew was called Jane and possessed magic. Finally, she decided she'd have to ask him about it herself or go insane wondering.

Just after her sixteenth birthday, she figured out how to wrench open their connection herself. It took about two hours of sitting alone in her room and searching for the end of the connection. Finally, though, she felt the icy cold creep down her spine. She sat in triumph for a few seconds until she heard him say: "Ow."

Her triumphant spirits dropped and were replaced by a rather sour mood_. "Ow_?" She scowled. "_I'm sorry, did I hurt you?_" She'd done it wrong. She knew it. He hadn't hurt her when _he'd _opened the connection for the first time.

She could almost imagine him rolling his eyes at her tone. "_Chill,_" he reprimanded. They were both older now and rather than being wary, he found her moods amusing. "_No, you didn't. I'm, ah, just in the middle of something. Got stabbed by a pin. Ow - and another one."_

"_Oh, okay."_ Mal exhaled. Pain games were common on the Isle. It wasn't her incompetence. "_Cool. Listen, I've been thinking a lot about this Jane person. I know it's dumb, but - do you like her at all? I mean - I get we're soulmates and everything - but is she, like, a girlfriend?" _She couldn't deny she was anxiously awaiting his answer as she sat in a dark corner of her bedroom. Was that why her normally biting speech was failing her?

Sheepish and a little surprised, he paused for a second. "_Um, no. Jane is just an acquaintance_," he assured her. "_But… I do have a girlfriend."_

Mal's heart sank. "_Oh. Really?_"

"_Yeah. She's an old childhood friend. But, I don't think it's working, to be honest. She doesn't know who her soulmate is and our parents are friends so we got together a while ago…_" he trailed off.

Mal searched through her feelings, trying to separate hers from his. "_A while ago?_"

"_Yeah. Are you okay?_"

"_I'm fine...This is just a weird emotion. I haven't felt it before._" It felt like someone putting weights on her shoulders and blanketing her head in a dark cloud.

"_Hurt?_" he asked. "_You haven't felt it?_"

"_Hurt…_" Mal repeated softly. She carefully applied the word to the feeling and found it fit. "_Yeah, I guess so. Hurt. I feel hurt._" Then she frowned. "_Why do I feel hurt?_"

Instead of answering, he sighed. "_I'm sorry._" He sounded remorseful, which combined with his apology threw Mal off a bit. "_I didn't mean to hurt you. Gah, I should have thought this through a little more_."

"_You didn't hurt me. You _can't _hurt me. This is...for some other reason_." She didn't like the doubt creeping in from his side, so she changed the subject. "_Who is she?_"

"_My girlfriend?_"

"_No, your sister._"

He laughed in her head. He sounded cheerful. It took the hurt away.

"_Her name is Audrey._"

Audrey, Audrey, Audrey. She searched and searched, but had no memory of that name.

"_I don't know anyone named Audrey. First Jane and now Audrey._"

"_Well, it's not a common name, but – you haven't heard of Audrey?_"

"_Should I have?_"

"_No, I suppose not. Auradon is a big place._"

"_But the Isle is small. I should know them._"

The connection nearly choked out with the sudden change in his mood. All his amused emotions were wiped from her system and replaced by a blank, unsettled feeling.

"_The Isle?_" he whispered. "_As in, the Isle of the Lost?_"

Mal got an extremely bad feeling. "_Yes...?_"

If he'd been standing in front of her, she got the impression he'd have been shaking and struggling to speak.

"_Who is your parent?_" he rasped out.

Mal pursed her lips. She was pretty sure she was Maleficent's only kid. What was the chance he'd know her? And if he did, what were the chances that he would blab to Maleficent that he was her daughter's soulmate? But something was telling Mal that she'd misjudged everything and that he wouldn't encounter her mother - and tell her Mal's greatest secret - anytime soon. She swallowed.

"_My mom. She's Maleficent._"

A different sort of ice cold ran through her veins. Fear. Real and true fear from his side of the connection.

"_What?_" she demanded. "_What's wrong?_"

"_I - don't live on the Isle. I live in Auradon._"

Mal felt her throat close up. Oh. _Oh._ Things started to make sense. Of course his mom wouldn't beat him. Of course. Of course he wouldn't understand about weaknesses. Of course. She felt her stomach drop into a deep, deep pit.

"_I-I have to go,_" she told him quickly and mentally grabbed around, looking for a way to close the connection. She felt him start to help her by pulling his side of consciousness closed. The iciness gradually left her spine.

Mal cursed at her stupidity. Why had she taken it for granted that her soulmate would be on the Isle? Who in Auradon would be so complimentary to her as to have this kind of connection? A villain in the making, maybe?

Or what if...what if Maleficent was right? What if she was _good, _just like all those simpering morons on the mainland? What if this was proof?

There wasn't a lot of time to feel confusion or self-pity. There were gang tags to paint, friends to lead, and mothers to deceive. Well, one mother.

* * *

It had scarcely been a week since last speaking to her soulmate when, as she finished clearing out an alleyway full of people, she felt the connection open again.

"_Hey, listen, I need you to not be mad at me._" Mal heard the voice in her head as she blew her bangs out of her face. The exhilaration of scaring other people faded out of her system. She leaned down and snatched a lollipop away from a child before she addressed her soulmate in an irritated tone.

"_What did you do?_" she growled.

"_No, seriously. I need you to not be mad_," he demanded, just as firm as her. She crinkled up her nose. She missed the days when she could easily intimidate him.

"_What did you do?_" she asked cautiously, this time.

"_Something,_" he mumbled.

"_Can you tell me?_" she asked.

Before he could answer, someone shouted. People ran for cover, but not from her. They were pointing behind her. Mal grit her teeth and steeled herself before turning around. What perfect timing the Mistress of Evil had sometimes.

Two henchmen confronted her, silent and still. "There's news," Maleficent drawled, stepping out from between them. "You and your _friends_ have been chosen to go to a different school." She looked down at Mal with an intense stare, one that Mal hadn't seen in years. One that meant a plan was in action. "In Auradon."

It only took a few seconds for the news to sink in.

Mal's friends let out little shrieks but Mal simply dug her nails into her palms and turned her attention to the person on the other end of the link. "_You did this_," she growled.

"_You found out already?"_ he asked. Dread and worry accosted her without mercy.

"_How dare you! You brought my mother and my friends into this? How?"_ Mal demanded.

_"You live on the Isle and I live in Auradon. We're not allowed to go over there, so how else could I have ever met you?_" he asked.

"_Maybe I don't want to meet you,_" Mal growled as she struggled to suppress the glow of her irises that tended to accompany very violent moods. "_Maybe I don't ever want to talk to you again, mainlander."_

_"Great, well, too bad - it's already been done. I guess I just won't introduce myself and we'll go on like this forever."_ She could feel his annoyance, but she didn't back down.

"_I'm not saying another word to you_," she announced.

_"Fine._" The icy cold faded from her emotions.

Too much celebrating was going on, in Mal's opinion. Evie was trying to talk to her about princes and castles and the like, but Mal brushed her off. "We can't go to Auradon. Our friends are here! We don't know anyone over there, and they hate us!" she argued.

Her mother took a step closer to her. "Mal. Understand that not everything is about you and your comfort. You will go to Auradon and you will do what is _expected _of you." The implications of that statement settled heavily on Mal's shoulders. The barrier would have to come down, just like Maleficent had always wanted. Except now, it was up to Mal to make that happen.

Her mother turned and Mal suddenly had a thought. How had he done it? How was this happening? She wished that she hadn't sent her soulmate away because now she wanted to interrogate him. It wasn't like _anyone_ in Auradon could up and decide to open the Isle of the Lost and whisk four new children to the mainland…. It made her wonder: who was he?

* * *

The four of them had piled into a very, very fancy car. There weren't many cars on the Isle, and approximately zero looked anything like this: a stretch limo with leather seats, candy and water bottles filling various nooks and pockets, a divider between themselves and the driver, and - were those color-changing lights in the roof?

Mal didn't avail herself of the bountiful harvest Jay and Carlos were currently enjoying. Even before they began driving, Carlos's mouth was covered in chocolate and Jay's jacket bulged with all of his 'findings'. As they left their parents, homes, and lives behind, only Evie glanced wistfully backward.

"We'll see them again," Mal assured her. After all, once they stole the wand, everyone on the Isle would be free.

Their driver had pressed a button on his rearview mirror while driving full speed towards the sea. The four teens ooh'ed and aah'ed as a magical bridge materialized, spanning the length of the strait that separated them from the mainland. Mal found herself mildly impressed. Then, with aid from a second button, they broke through the barrier.

The effect was instantaneous and, to Mal, almost seismic in nature. Everyone else felt it to a lesser degree - Jay and Carlos exchanged surprised looks and then closed their eyes, their expressions changing with whatever mental conversation they were having. Evie jumped and grabbed Mal's arm - "Mal! Oh, Mal, I can hear him! He's asking my name!"

Mal was a little too tied up to respond. On the one hand, the magic she had been unable to use on the Isle was now surfacing with a vengeance. On the other hand, the connection with her soulmate had opened - just as it had for Jay, Carlos, and Evie - and something was very wrong with it.

Images and sounds assaulted her - thousands of memories that were not her own. Falling off of a horse. Receiving a stern lecture from a familiar-looking man wearing a crown. Sitting in a classroom - a very nice classroom, with intact furniture and sunlight streaming in through the windows. A garden of roses, and someone singing a song just out of view. Her eyes filled with tears, and at first, she thought it was because she had never seen such a beautiful world.

But those weren't her tears, either.

"_Oh my gosh…_" His voice sounded broken. "_Why would she do that to you_?"

"_What are you - don't - stop!_" Mal started breathing heavily, despite years of training herself not to show her emotions physically when he was the reason for them. "_Go away, I'm still not talking to you. And I've got other things to deal with right now."_

"_How could you live like that? How could anyone live like that?"_

"_Get out of my head!"_ Whatever the mental equivalent was of picking him up and drop-kicking him as far as she could, that was what Mal did. The connection closed fairly quickly, but she was left shivering, the feeling of violation and betrayal almost overwhelming her.

"_Wow,"_ Jay said from across the car. "That was…" he ran his hands through his hair. "That was…"

"Jane_,"_ Carlos mumbled beside him, leaning his head back into the seat. "Her name is Jane."

"I wasn't able to get his name_!"_ Evie mourned. "I don't think he heard mine either! The connection closed too quickly_._" She turned to Mal. "Did you hear anything?_"_ she asked.

Mal frowned. "Evie, I told you already that I don't have one_."_

Evie wilted. "Yes, well, I was hoping that maybe you just hadn't had your…yeah._"_

"No,_"_ Mal shook her head. "I am a hundred percent positive I don't have one. And if I did, I would do everything I could to get rid of it._"_

* * *

Auradon was sweltering. As soon as they crossed onto the beach, the driver turned the air conditioning all the way up. Carlos had briefly rolled down the window to catch a glimpse of the blue sky - the first clear sky they'd ever seen - before the driver had rolled it back up and used the intercom to inform them that it was probably best no one knew which car the new kids were coming in.

They soon passed through a city and then began driving underneath dozens and dozens of large, oaken trees. For a long time, there was no sign of anyone, but then Jay pointed to someone reading behind a secluded tree and suddenly it felt like people were everywhere they looked. A few pointed to the car and Mal knew they were deducing who was hidden inside the interior.

The car slowed as they came upon a white stone building with sparkling metal-wrought decorations across the top. The Auradon flag was draped over the entrance, hanging from two golden spikes driven into the stone. In front of the building was a circular drive, which they pulled into, and two lawns split with a paved pathway upon which dozens of people were crowded. Mal squinted through the tinted windows. She could discern three people in the front. One was a curvy woman in a bright shade of blue. Another, more petite girl in a rather frilly pink and yellow dress had her arm looped through the elbow of a boy next to her. The boy looked even more stupid, wearing a fitted blue suit with a folded yellow kerchief tucked inside the breast pocket. What fun it would be to rip that out and tear it into shreds in front of him.

There were other people behind them - students, a few stern teachers and worried citizens, and…was that a band? It had to be, what with the uniforms and the dozens of brass instruments they were holding. However, weren't bands supposed to sound, well...good? Or patriotic at the least? The only cause this band seemed united behind was destroying Mal's hearing before she could get out of the car.

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos all exchanged glances. Carlos had a sticky brown coating on his hands and cheeks, but Jay had cleaned up well enough. As the driver got out of the car, Carlos tried the inside door. It refused to open. They were locked inside, for the time being. Mal couldn't believe they'd fallen for such a simple trick. The driver was coming around to let them out though, so she bit her lip and quelled her rage. On the other end of her soulmate connection, she felt probing, but pushed it away. He probably wanted to make sure she was here, that she was safe, possibly find out more about her identity than he already knew - but she was still angry with him.

Jay began stuffing various candies and non-meltable snacks down his shirt. His fingertips grazed over the chocolate, but Mal could see the gears turning in his head as he glanced at Carlos and decided that he didn't want a matching mess down the inside of his vest.

The door opened with a click and a hand appeared as if offering help. Carlos nudged it aside with his head, careful not to let the stranger within grasping distance of his hair, and got out. The band's pitiful attempt at a welcome song fizzled out, with one trumpeter getting the memo a second later than everyone else. Jay got out next, also shouldering aside the hand as he finished tucking lollipops and bubble gum sticks into his fingerless gloves. It was a smart move - after all, they didn't know the next time they'd see anything edible. Evie was the first to accept the proffered hand, stepping out with demure grace and a bright, excited smile. Mal watched the reactions of the onlookers outside. The boy in blue with the swanky, oh-so-tempting handkerchief was examining Evie intensely. He looked frustrated, as if something wasn't quite adding up, but was hiding it. Behind him, one of the boys in the uniforms who had a ridiculous hat atop his head dropped his trumpet with a clatter. Mal had a feeling he was the same one who had continued bleating his horn well after his bandmates had stopped. His face turned bright red as Evie's gaze swept over the crowd.

"Miss?" The driver called to her, still extending his hand. Mal snarled at the sentiment and then stepped forward. She, too, ignored his hand as she emerged into the glaring sunlight. She heard the chauffeur give an annoyed sigh, but her attention was immediately captured by the three people in front of her.

The older woman's eyes skimmed over the four and she took a deep breath. "It's nice to see you all here, safe," she smiled. "I'm Fairy Godmother, the Headmistress at Auradon Preparatory School." She gave a little bow or a curtsy - Mal never could tell the difference between the two - and Mal took the opportunity to exchange a look with her gang. "Behind me, this is - "

"Where's your wand?" Carlos blurted out, bobbing his head from side to side as he peered at Fairy Godmother, looking for hidden pockets. "Aren't you supposed to have a wand?"

The Fairy Godmother gave a tight smile. "I don't keep it on me anymore," she explained. "That was a long time ago, after all. And now, as I was saying, behind me are the people who will be introducing you to your classmates and answering all your questions. To the right here is Princess Audrey Fanning, one of our Junior Class Leaders, and this here beside her is the Crown Prince Benjamin."

Mal blinked skeptically at the prince, who was examining her as well. His lips were pursed together as his eyes hovered on the wings embroidered on her shoulders. She didn't like the way they were traveling, as if drinking in every last detail. "They let you meet us?" she drawled.

The prince's eyes snapped back up to meet hers. A smile replaced the studious line of his mouth. "I requested to meet you, actually. I was insistent that I would be the person to show you all around. After all, I'm the reason you're all here." No, he wasn't, Mal knew. Her soulmate had caused this. "I felt it was my responsibility to make sure you all feel comfortable and accepted."

'_Accepted,'_ Mal thought, glancing at Audrey's tightening grip on his arm. The princess was examining her outfit as well - focusing on the dragon applique - and looking as if she had swallowed a lemon. Ben nudged her side when her grip began to pinch too hard, still maintaining his smile.

"Prince Ben and Audrey will give you the grand tour," Fairy Godmother explained with a smile. "And I'll see you later. You have your first class with me."

"Can't wait," Mal deadpanned, then looked back to Ben and Audrey as if to dismiss the Headmistress. For several seconds, there was a long and awkward silence. Then, the prince clapped his hands together and took a half-step forward.

"Well! It is so, so good to finally meet you all," He tried to walk forward and shake Jay's hand. Jay, however, stopped Ben with a fist. Ben took no mind of it and outstretched a hand to Mal, who unfolded her arms long enough to reach forward and shake his hand. The moment her skin brushed his, an explosion of color and sound appeared behind her eyes. She looked up at him in surprise as thousands of emotions – trepidation, annoyance, surprise – rushed through her, just like they did when her connection was active. However, this time they were unaccompanied by the cold touch.

"_What on earth?_" she thought.

"_Sorry_," someone thought back. And now that Mal had heard it before, it sounded awfully familiar.

She stared up at the prince and studied him. "_Is it you?_" she asked through the connection as shock raced through her. Her eyes flickered back over his shoulder to where Princess Audrey – Audrey – stood waiting, warily eyeing the prolonged handshake her boyfriend was sharing with Mal. She ripped her hand away and expected the connection to fizzle out, but it didn't, which made Mal panic even more.

"_It is me_," he confirmed. "_I'm your soulmate._" And she felt him examining her. She could feel how tight his chest was getting in excitement and his wonder at how "adorable" (his words!) she was for being the daughter of such a formidable villain…by the gods, she wanted to throw up.

"_Ben_?" she asked in horror - well, perhaps horror wasn't the right word, but it was pretty darn close. "_Prince freaking Ben?_"

"_Yeah_." He had to rip his eyes off of her to move down the line. As soon as his gaze had left hers, Mal searched for a way to close the borders of her mind, but there were none. They'd vanished. She remembered they had never really opened in the first place, not the way she was used to.

Ben shook hands with Carlos. Mal got the rush of unease as he tried to avoid the chocolate on Carlos's fingers. When he reached Evie, she felt his worry as she leaned in tantalizingly towards him.

"This is a momentous occasion, one that I hope will go down in history as the day our peoples begin to heal," he proclaimed. Mal stifled the spikes of annoyance that ran through her, then cursed herself for caring that he would feel them. Let him. It was a stupid thing to say.

"Or, the day you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are," she countered. Ben's gaze fell on her as he laughed, and her skin felt like electricity, live and hot. Judging by the self-satisfaction coming from his side of the connection, Ben could feel it too.

"_Shut up!_" she ordered in her head. She heard him chuckle without moving his lips, though the corners of his mouth crooked upwards.

"_I haven't said anything. Why are you so embarrassed?_" he teased. Realizing his girlfriend was literally three feet away from him, however, he suddenly stopped. Then, opening his mouth, he asked in a much more subdued voice: "A little bit over the top?"

"A little more than a little bit," she confirmed to the rest of the world.

"Well, so much for my first impression.". Mal bit her tongue to stop an eye roll. She already hated him - so yes, his first impression had sucked. But when she glanced up and her eyes caught his impossibly pretty blue ones, she felt like she was falling through space…

He tilted his head to the side. "_Are we good now_?" he asked her.

She wasn't sure. Were they good? Was she okay with this?

"Hey, you're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" Audrey blurted out beside Ben, reaching forward to wrap her arm through his again. Spikes of anxiety invaded Mal's senses as Ben's face went pale.

"Ah - " he stammered, glancing between the two girls. "_Oh, crap, oh crap."_

"_What's going on?"_ Mal asked him.

"I just wanted to let you know that there's no bad blood between us," Audrey smiled, leaning forward a little even as she pulled Ben back. "My mom's Aurora. You know, Sleeping Beauty?"

Sleeping Beauty? Mal blinked twice and then fixed her gaze on a thoroughly-embarrassed Ben. "_You've got to be kidding me," _she hissed. "_Sleeping Beauty? __The __Sleeping Beauty? You had her daughter meet me here - __and_ _she's your girlfriend?"_

"_It didn't really occur to me…"_ he tried before the thought sputtered off. "_I'm really sor-"_

"_We're not good," _she decided, cutting him off. "_Get out of my head._"

"_Mal - _"

"_I said, get out!_"

There was a slight pause, but his presence in her head didn't fade. "_I can't."_

"_You can't what?"_

"_I can't go away. I'm trying. You try."_

"_I am, and it wasn't working, that's why I told you to do it."_

Another pause_. "I thought we figured this out already."_

"_Guess not," _Mal remarked, annoyed.

"_What if we try together?" _He suggested. "_On three?"_

Mal pursed her lips_. "Fine," _she grumbled.

"_One, two..." _They both began trying to shut down their mental bridge. Mal felt herself go cross-eyed from the strain, but nothing happened. She heard him give an actual, vocalized grunt. Then, Evie started calling her name.

"Mal?" she asked. "Mal, are you okay?"

Mal snapped back to the present, casting her eyes about her group. "I'm fine," she said, then leveled her gaze with Audrey. "I… didn't know Aurora had a daughter."

"Oh, well, she does. But like I said, there's no bad blood. After all, I had the privilege of being raised by my mother, not three fairies in the woods." Audrey seemed quite satisfied with Mal's reaction. It was so irritating that she thought some goody-two-shoes princess could shake the daughter of a dragon. Mal actually had quite a few things to say, starting with, "Remember how your grandparents didn't invite my mom to that christening and started this whole feud? Do _you_ really get to decide there's no bad blood?" but admittedly, she had bigger problems.

"_Why isn't this closing?!"_

"_I don't know." _Ben wasn't feeling quite as frantic as Mal, so she pushed some of her emotions off on him out of spite.

"_This is your fault. You wanted us to meet, and now we're sharing a brain!"_

"_It's going to be okay. Just calm down."_

Mal scowled and gave a brief nod to Audrey before she stepped right through them and began to walk down the path, through the band. They parted for her like any crowd on the Isle would. "So, what parts of this joint do we need to know about?"

"We were thinking we would start with the major classroom areas and the numbering system so you can find your classes later," Ben began, glancing at her legs as she passed by. She turned around before his gaze could creep any higher and heard him mutter a distant "_Sorry_," in her head. "Then we were going to swing by the lunchroom, explain the major rules, and drop you off at your dorms."

"Let's skip right to that last bit," Mal recommended.

"I figured you would say that, which is why it's last on the list," Ben raised an eyebrow. "Stay focused for the tour and you'll get there quicker, okay?"

Mal only glared. Then she glanced at her friends and jerked her head to the left. "Come on, we'll find them ourselves."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "They're not marked," he informed her.

"I love a good challenge," Mal replied. She stepped around him and her three compatriots, who looked a little confused on how she could possibly think she could find the dorms on her own, followed her. She felt Ben's mounting amusement as the Fairy Godmother leaned forward to yank on his arms. It was about two seconds before the thought passed through his mind: "_At least they're heading in the right direction. They won't be too entirely embarrassed_."

Mal fought to keep her thoughts blank. It was a struggle.

Carlos leaned up. "We don't know where we're going," he whispered. "And I want to see the cafeteria."

Mal was busy gauging Ben's thoughts while trying not to alert him to her skimming. He was still expecting them to turn around for help, so he hadn't noticed her snooping yet. "_Where would the cafeteria be?"_ She wondered and immediately, directions opened up in Ben's head.

"_Located right outside the art department, which you're already headed towards, with the dorms right beside the math hall across the lawn from the - wait..._"

Mal could hardly hold back a smirk as she pointed ahead, slightly towards the left, and announced. "Let's go this way. I bet that's where the food will be."

"How did you know that?" Audrey asked behind Mal, surprised.

Mal spared her a glance only to give her a smug expression. "Just picked up on it," she replied.

"_Are you picking up on anything else? Exasperation, maybe?"_ Ben thought.

He then reacted to something then that Mal couldn't hear - she assumed it was the Fairy Godmother from the professional attitude he immediately summoned up. Mal ignored him, hoping the bond would soften and go away. But when they opened the doors to their dorms for the first time, she could still feel him there, an ever present spectator of her life.

**This story is a collaboration with Harry Potter Fan 1994.**


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